The Entire History of Us
by RaydorCakes
Summary: The story of Sharon Raydor and Andy Flynn from 1983 to 2018. Rated M for abuse/alcohol/rape situations
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This story is set while Sharon is in FID, about thirty years in the past. This story delves into Andy's relationship with his family, Sharon's relationship with hers, Andy's alcoholism and recovery, and all the things that caused their respective marriages to fail. I started writing this story years ago, but with the news about season six, I figured this was a good way to wrap it all up. The story starts in the 80's and progresses through the finale, filling in the blanks that Duff left as canonically as possible. I'd love to hear your opinions, I own nothing, and all mistakes are my own._

 _(Also special thanks to Abydosorphan for being the best beta a fangirl could ask for)_

 _WARNING: Abuse, sexual assault, adultery, and addiction are main themes of this story. It touches on a lot of dark subjects, but I promise there's some light._

 _ **Los Angeles, 1983**_

"I told you, I'm _married_." Lieutenant Sharon Raydor states coldly, looking up briefly from the form she is filling out to send a piercing glare to the man in front of her.

"That doesn't mean we can't go out some time. As friends." Corporal Andy Flynn shrugs, adding the second part quickly.

" _No."_ She responds firmly, her eyes once again glued to her paperwork.

"Why not?" Andy looks at her and tilts his head to the side, a small smile on the corner of his torn lip.

"I am here to investigate your involvement in the Gary Lockerby case. That is why." She states in a monotone voice, tired of his antics.

It was the third time he had passed through her office in less than two weeks, and each time he had tried to ask her out. Sharon knew that by asking her out he was hoping to get on her good side and nothing more. It wasn't the first time someone opposite her had tried to persuade her with dinner and drinks, and she wasn't going to let herself be manipulated by some of the worst the LAPD had to offer, and _especially_ not by Andrew Flynn.

"Lockerby ran. I followed and tackled him. While we were wrestling he hit me in the face," Andy points at his split lip, "and I landed a few hits on him as well. It was self-defence."

"Mhm." Sharon nods sarcastically as she takes his statement.

"You don't believe me?" Flynn asks, his voice inflecting and his hands coming up in surrender.

"I didn't say that." She shakes her head as she continues to write, her eyes still focused intently on the papers in front of her.

"Ask Provenza." He responds defensively and Sharon offers a cynical chuckle.

"Ah yes, Provenza." She smiles coldly, "Your partner, who happens to have a jacket just as thick as yours."

"He was there!" Andy was starting to get irritated. Now he understood why everyone called her the Wicked Witch, and he was actually starting to hate her a bit. _Why couldn't she just believe him?_

"You're suspended pending further investigation." Her voice is unwavering as she continues to write, waiting for his outraged response.

"What? Why? I didn't fire my weapon!" His eyebrows knit together in frustration as he extends his hands again, "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, no." Sharon shakes her head, her voice dripping with cynical sarcasm, "I'm obviously known for my humour and wit."

Flynn takes a deep breath and clenches his fists a few times, feeling anger burning at the tips of his ears, "What is wrong with you?!"

"Listen to me," Sharon exclaims, her eyes locking with his as she smashes her pen down on the desk loudly, " _you_ have managed to end up in my office three times in less than fourteen days. I'm suspending you for your own good. Get some counselling, take a vacation. Because if you have any intention of keeping this job, you need to get your anger under control, and _soon_."

Flynn pouts, rage still boiling beneath his skin, "Why do you hate me?" The words come out bitterly.

"Hate isn't exactly the word I'd use." She responds as she goes back to writing and shrugs, her bottom lip puckering out somewhat menacingly.

"Then what's your problem?" His voice is still filled with anger as he watches her hand glide across the page.

"You're dangerous." She states plainly, "To yourself, to the department, and to the public."

"That's not true." Andy shakes his head and glances away from her, afraid to admit that she was right.

"Isn't it?" She looks up at him and quirks an eyebrow, "In the past ten years, you've been in my office more times than I can count. And out of all of the charges against you, you've only been cleared for three incidents." She reaches over and pulls out his accordion folder, skimming through the papers as she continues talking, "Assault on an unarmed suspect, reckless endangerment, firing of a weapon with no justifiable cause. Oh, and this one," she points to the paper she had been reading, "assault on a fellow officer."

Flynn bites his tongue, trying not to lash out at her. He knew that if he did he'd spend the next week in sensitivity training, upon his reinstatement, that is.

"Okay, you're right." He shrugs, "You happy now? I said it. Just don't suspend me, please." Andy Flynn wasn't a fan of begging, but he felt as if he had no other choice.

"I have to. It's the rules." Sharon shrugs, looking genuinely sorry, "Time off could do you some good." She motions with her pen to the slim gold band that rests on his ring finger, "Spend time with those who matter."

"Yeah, right." Andy chuckles sarcastically before rising from his chair and fleeing her office.

~oOo~

"She's a bitch." Provenza grumbles as he sips his beer, watching Flynn who appears to be deep in thought, "That asshole really did a number on your face." He squints and looks at his partner.

"You're telling me." Andy returns as he nurses the whiskey he had been drinking, "I can't believe she actually suspended me!"

"She's known for being a hardass, what'd you expect?" The older man rolls his eyes and sets his empty mug down on the small circular table.

"I'm good at what I do, damn it Louie, I am." He purses his lips sadly before taking another sip of his drink.

"And she's good at what she does, or so I'm told." Provenza rolls his eyes again, "But hey, you're getting a week off work without using your days. Take advantage of it."

"Right." Andy responds coldly, "I'm sure Miranda will be thrilled to have me around all day."

"You know, I'd kill to have a woman like her."

"Take her then. Sweep her off her feet, I don't care." Andy's expression hardens as he finishes his whiskey, "She doesn't want me around anyway."

"You've always had a way with women, haven't you?" Provenza questions, his demeanour much more jovial than the man sitting across from him.

"Shut up." Flynn grumbles in response, indicating that he wanted another drink before letting out a deep sigh, "You're such an ass."

"But you love me." Provenza smirks, paying his tab before heading home.

~oOo~

"I got suspended." Andy admits sheepishly, his head bowed and his hands hanging loosely between his legs.

"What the hell?" His wife, Miranda responds and jumps up from the couch to pace in front of him, "Out of all the stupid shit you've pulled over the years Andy, this has _got_ to be the worst." She exclaims as her cheeks begin to redden, her blonde hair sticking out of her ponytail in haphazard curls, "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Andy defends, "Look at my face!"

Miranda's blue eyes meet his apologetically, taking in his appearance. It is only now that she fully recognises his injuries. His top lip is split open just to the left of his nose, and a blue-green bruise colours his right temple.

"Andy, I'm sorry." Miranda looks down at her hands, toying with the diamond ring that decorates her finger, "What happened?"

"Our suspect, when we announced ourselves, he ran. I chased him and we ended up fighting." He sighs, "It was all in self-defence, I promise you that."

Miranda watches him curiously for a moment before returning to her seat. She wants to believe him; he was her husband after all, and she was supposed to trust him. But something felt off about him and she squints, trying to figure it out.

"What?" He tilts his head to look at her, squinting back.

"Nothing." Miranda dismisses any unease she was feeling with a wave of her hand as she gets up from the couch and walks to Andy, "I'm working tomorrow, and since you're home I'd appreciate it if you'd take the kids to school. Michael has baseball practise in the afternoon, and Nicole has ballet." She explains.

"I know." Andy nods, "I'll get them there, don't worry about it." He offers his wife a sad smile and closes his eyes as she presses a warm kiss to his forehead.

"I'm going to turn in, please don't make too much noise." She asks quietly and he nods.

"Goodnight, Sweetheart." He whispers down the hallway before he gets up from his chair and gets a beer from the refrigerator, returning to the armchair and flipping on the television.

~oOo~

Andy Flynn is awoken in the morning by two children running over and jumping onto the couch while screaming "Good morning" in his ears.

"Morning." Andy responds just as loudly, trying not to seem startled.

"Dad, why aren't you at work?" Andy's son, Michael questions curiously.

"Your father has a few days off work." Miranda calls from the kitchen. Andy cranes his neck to look at her, her hair cascading down the middle of her back in soft curls, a frying pan clutched in her hand, "Come on, breakfast is ready."

At the sound of those word the kids run to the table, waiting eagerly for Andy to push in their chairs. He pushes himself up from the couch slowly, his joints aching from his fight with Lockerby the previous day.

"There you go." He pushes in Nicole's chair and she responds in her smallest voice.

"Thank you, Daddy." She giggles, watching as he does the same for Michael.

They sit for a while eating breakfast. Andy thought it was strange, all of them together for a meal. It didn't happen often, but he was thankful to have time with his family.

"Hey Daddy," Nicole begins, her dark hair that was so characteristically _Flynn_ frizzy from blow drying it, "what happened to your face?"

Andy lets out a small sigh and Miranda reaches over to squeeze his arm, "A bad guy beat me up." He responds simply as he continues to eat.

"That's not nice." Michael shakes his head, both hands latching onto his glass as he sips his orange juice.

"No, it wasn't." Andy lets out a small chuckle and shakes his head.

"Okay," Miranda breathes out and stands up from the table before smoothing her black skirt, "I have to go to work." She walks around the table and presses a kiss to each of her children's foreheads before coming to Andy and placing a soft kiss on his lips, "I love you." She offers a small smile, kissing him one last time before she turns and heads for the door.

"I love you too." Andy calls after her, watching as she disappeared.

 _A/N: I was nearly thirty chapters into this story when it was revealed Andy's wife was named Sandra, but I couldn't bring myself to change it. Sandra and Miranda are close enough lol_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thanks everyone for the feedback on the first chapter! Seeing as this is going to be a pretty long story, I'll respond to questions/comments in the author's note for each chapter._

 _To the Guest who pointed out that I have many unfinished stories and asked if this will be different. The answer is: Yes. In all of my old stories, I'd write a chapter and immediately post it, and didn't have a plan in place for the story. I have this one close to done and have been fine-tuning it to make sure everything gets finished._

 _To welshcwtch: I started this story in September of 2016. It's currently 228 pages and around 94k words._

 _To Sixty Five Roses: Thank you so much for your comment! In my mind, it made more sense to the story to have Andy and Provenza as partners, although they weren't canonically partners at the time. Their close friendship is important later in the story and I wanted that bond to be there from the beginning. As for the ranks, I appreciate and am totally amazed by the time and effort you must've put in to figure out exactly what ranks the characters would've been at the time. I, however, am lazy and just knocked everyone back a rank. I had no idea the LAPD doesn't have corporals, local police I've worked with have the rank, so I assumed most departments did too. Thanks for letting me know :)_

~oOo~

 _Today will get better once I make it to work._ Sharon Raydor thinks to herself, praying she is right.

She was supposed to have it all. The nice house, the loving husband, two beautiful kids, and the perfect job. It was on days like today she felt as if her life was anything _but_ perfect.

When she had arrived home last night, she found her husband, Jackson, curled up on the couch with their two young children, both having fallen asleep during the movie they had been watching. Sharon had quietly set down her purse and slipped out of her high heels before coming over to the couch and smiling at her husband. He motioned with his eyes for her to take one of the kids, and she wrapped her arms around Emily before cradling the child against her chest. Jack had picked up Ricky, and they walked down the hallway together, changing the children into their pyjamas and putting them to bed.

As soon as their bedroom door was closed Jack had grabbed Sharon and kissed her strongly, and she was more than ecstatic to know that he still wanted her in that way. They fell asleep in each other's arms, a small smile tugging at the corners of Sharon's mouth.

 _Unfortunately, Sharon couldn't wake up to a moment quite as happy._

At the sound of her alarm, she groans, waiting for Jack to shut it off. When he doesn't, Sharon sighs and reaches over to shake him awake. She finds his side of the bed cold and curses herself for thinking he'd stay for good this time.

Sharon gets dressed for work and sighs, dreading that once again she'd have to explain to her children that their father was gone. She isn't sure why, but she always allowed herself a foolish bit of hope that he'd stay, and of course, he never did.

The children reacted as badly to the news as Sharon had expected, both screaming and crying as she loaded them into the car. More than anything she wanted to protect her babies and shelter them from Jack's foolishness, but she knew it was futile. She sighs as she buckles her seatbelt and starts down the road, Emily and Ricky still bawling in the back seat.

~oOo~

Sharon is grateful to finally make it to the kids' school. She loves them dearly, but she hates to see them cry, especially over Jack. She hopes that once they see their friends, the children will perk right up. She gets out of the car and rounds to Emily's side first, loosening all the straps so that she can get out. She does the same for Ricky, both children still crying as the latch onto Sharon's hands and follow her into the school.

 _So much for a good day._

Sharon freezes in her tracks when she sees the man in front of her, two small children latched onto his hands in a similar fashion.

"I'll pick you two up later." Andy Flynn promises, kneeling down and looking at his children happily, "Nicole, you have ballet, and Michael, you have baseball. I was thinking we could all go out for ice cream after that." He smiles when both of his children nod in response, "Okay, you two have fun, I'll see you in a bit." He kisses each of his children before standing and turning around, freezing in his tracks just as Sharon had upon her arrival. "Lieutenant Raydor." He looks from her to the two distraught children attached to her hands, "Good morning." He tries, even though he can tell by her appearance that she is having anything but.

"Ha. Funny." She responds in irritation, leading her children past him and towards the reception area.

"Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?" Emily questions quietly, reaching up with her free hand to rub her red eyes, "He said he'd take us to the playground tomorrow."

"I'll take you, Baby, don't you worry about it." Sharon promises as she kneels down in front of her children, both red-faced from crying, "Try and have a good day, please?" She offers the youngsters her strongest smile and squeezes their shoulders, "I'll come pick you up around three."

"Okay, Mom." Ricky sighs, "Have fun at work."

"I'll try." She offers a hopeful smile, pulling Emily and Ricky into her arms for a hug, "I love you two."

"We love you too." Emily responds for the both of them, pressing a kiss to her mother's cheek before squirming out of her arms and running off to the other kids.

~oOo~

Sharon freezes for the second time that day when she exits the school and sees Andy Flynn leaning up against his car. She knows he is going to ask for his suspension to be lifted, and she is in no mood to deal with him today. She walks over to her car and gets in, putting the keys in the ignition and jumping when she hears a knock on the glass window. She lets out a puff of air before turning and looking, already knowing who stands on the other side of the vehicle.

"Corporal Flynn." She looks to him with disdain, repressing the urge to roll her eyes.

"Lieutenant." He nods in response, surprised when Sharon rolls down the window.

"I'm not lifting your suspension." She states plainly, "It's not happening."

"Is that still a no on those drinks then?" He questions with a quirked eyebrow.

Sharon sighs before letting out a sarcastic chuckle, "Are you trying to make your situation worse?" She questions.

"How much worse could it get?" He shrugs, still propped against her car.

"I'm married, just like I was yesterday." She responds, enunciating each word, "And so are you. Not to mention how many rules we'd be violating _if_ ," she adds pointedly, "I felt anything other than irritation every time I saw your face."

"I'm not asking for a date. Just some drinks, as friends." Andy defends, watching as her facial expression remains unchanged.

"No. And if you keep it up you'll be suspended for longer." She retorts as she starts her car and backs out of the space, leaving Andy standing by himself.

~oOo~

It was maybe 12:30, and Andy sits at the bar, bored out of his mind. He couldn't go to work, and he didn't particularly want to go home either, so he sat and drank and watched the news on the television. A tingling feeling bites at his fingertips, and he is thankful to feel something other than anger for the first time in quite a while. He flips open his phone and debates calling Sharon but decides against it. She really didn't like him and based off of their interaction that morning, he knew she'd have even less patience with him than normal.

He sighs and takes another hefty swig of his drink, thinking about Miranda. He was surprised at her reaction to his suspension. As in most situations, he expected her to lash out and yell at him for being a failure, but she hadn't. Andy wasn't sure why, but it disturbed him. It was like she finally accepted who he was and that he wasn't perfect. Having her respond rather positively to what he had said was a surprise, and he welcomed it, hopeful that their relationship wouldn't be so rocky from now on.

He hadn't treated her well. It hurt, but he could acknowledge it. He was always at work or out with Provenza, and he never made time to spend with her. She took it out on him, changing the locks and threatening to take the kids if he didn't start paying attention to his family. That was the final straw for Andy and he made sure to be there for them after that.

Hours later and Flynn is still sitting at the bar, his head spinning and his senses numb. He tries to get up from his stool and stumbles, scraping his hands on the rough cement floor when he tries to catch himself.

~oOo~

Sharon sighs and steps on the gas a little harder, internally cursing Detective Jansson for holding her up. She was late to pick up her kids, and she _hated_ being late. She parks the car hastily and hurries across the parking lot, opening the door to the school and letting out a deep sigh. She sees Emily and Ricky playing with two other children, and is grateful that she isn't the last parent to show up. She walks over to the desk and signs out her children, surprised to find that the other two are Nicole and Michael Flynn. She walks over to where the four children are playing and sits down with them, watching as Emily and Ricky's eyes light up with excitement.

"Mom!" They both exclaim, dropping the toys they had been playing with and crawling into her lap, "Can we go home now?"

"Yes." She chuckles as she runs a hand through Emily's light hair, "But first, who are your friends?" She asks, looking at the two children across from her. They both remind her of Flynn a bit, with their dark hair and light complexion.

"That's Nicole." Emily explains and points to the older of the two Flynn children. Nicole offers a wave and a small "hi" before going back to her toy, "And that's Michael."

Michael looks almost exactly like his father, a pout gracing his face and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Is your dad Andy?" Sharon questions in a soft voice, watching as both of them nod, "Where is he?" She asks and they both shake their heads.

"I dunno." Michael says angrily, "But I had baseball and Nicky had ballet. We missed it."

Sharon can't help but frown, pondering her options for a moment. "I'm a friend of your father's, how would the two of you like to come over for dinner?"

Emily and Ricky both look at their mother hopefully, squealing in excitement when Nicole and Michael smile.

~oOo~

Sharon had called him six times since they left the school, and still nothing. She was starting to worry, even though the logical part of her kept saying he was fine. He was a grown man who was more than capable of taking care of himself.

She watches all four of the children playing happily with an assortment of toys scattered about the living room, the smell of their favourite chicken nuggets filling the house.

"Kids, it's time for dinner." She says, picking the toys off the floor and placing them in the box in the corner, "I made chicken nuggets."

"Yay!" They all exclaim and run to the kitchen, Sharon walking behind, a small smile gracing her lips.

She listens to Nicole and Michael talk about their father while they eat, and watches as a sad look crosses her children's faces when they have nothing to say about their own father. She tries to call Andy again, and it goes to voicemail again. Something in her heart told Sharon that taking the kids was the best idea, but now she isn't so sure. It was nearing seven-o'clock, and she had yet to hear from him. She was glad that Nicole and Michael were distracted though, the last thing she needed was four children with abandonment issues. A knock on the door jarrs Sharon from her thoughts and she hurries to it, hoping it was Andy at the door. When she sees a blonde woman in a black skirt and purple blazer standing on the landing, she pauses, her face showing her surprise.

"Can I help you?" She asks cautiously.

"Are you Sharon Raydor?" The woman questions, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I am, why?" She asks, her impenetrable facade up in a matter of moments.

"I'm Andy Flynn's wife. I'm here for the kids."

"Oh." Sharon responds quietly, "Is he okay?"

"That's a subjective term." She scoffs and Sharon steps aside to allow her to enter, "I'm Miranda, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you." Sharon offers an awkward smile, "What happened?"

Miranda turns to look at Sharon, a sad expression on her face, "He didn't have anything better to do than go for a midday drink."

Sharon frowns as she leads Miranda through the house, images of her own husband flashing through her mind, "I'm sorry." She lets out a deep breath, "I know how hard it can be."

"You don't need to apologise for his asinine behaviour." Miranda responds as Sharon turns the corner, all four children looking up to their respective mothers.

"Mom!" The two Flynn children respond, jumping up from the game they had been playing and running over to her, "Where's Dad?" Nicole asks with fear in her voice, "I missed ballet."

"He's at home Honey, he wasn't feeling too good." Miranda responds softly as she runs a hand through her daughter's hair, "Are you two ready to go home?"

Both of them nod in response, all thanking Sharon before they leave.


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on, Miranda, please!" Andy begs, looking up at his wife desperately, "Don't kick me out, please!"

Miranda frowns and thinks for a moment, her eyes drawn to the floor, "What is wrong with you?" The words come out quietly, yet sharply enough to cut Andy like a knife, "The Andy I married didn't go out and get wasted in a bar."

"Mandy it was one time, please just, please don't." He looks to her pleadingly, fidgeting with his hands.

"You forgot about the kids." She frowns and shakes her head, "And I had to get a call from Louie that he found you at the bar. Do you even care about us, Andy?" She asks.

"Sweetheart, of course I do." Andy reaches out and rests a hand on her elbow, his brown eyes filled with sadness, "I do."

"You know, that lieutenant you're constantly complaining about, she took the kids for the evening."

Andy blinks a few times, processing his wife's words, "Lieutenant Raydor?" He asks in confusion.

"Yes." Miranda nods, "If you were sober enough to check your voicemails, you'd've known that."

"It was an accident." Andy breathes out and looks away from her, dropping his hand off of her elbow.

"What made you think going to the bar in the middle of the day was a good idea?" She asks. She wants to yell at him, but restrains herself. The kids had just gotten their father back, and she didn't want them to lose him again.

"I wasn't thinking." Andy says quietly, and Miranda can tell he's ashamed just by the tone of his voice, "I really am sorry."

Miranda looks at him, her face falling with sadness. She wanted more than anything to console him, but she was still so upset. "What were you thinking about?" She asks softly.

"Work mostly." He shrugs, his head still bowed, "I'm sorry."

"You can stay," she responds and Andy looks up hopefully, "but you're sleeping on the couch." She says before turning to their bedroom, closing and locking the door.

~oOo~

Cradling a boiling mug of tea in her hands, Sharon dreads what she has to do. She had gotten a call from Jack that afternoon, explaining why he had left. It was the same ridiculous bullshit as usual, and Sharon swore not to let him back into their lives the next time he came around. She lets out a deep breath and takes the few steps to the living room, both Emily and Ricky sitting on the couch in their pyjamas and watching her curiously. She sits down between the two of them, her shoulders slumping forward with sadness.

"You know your father loves you, don't you?" She asks, not looking at either of the children as she speaks the question.

"Yeah." Emily responds and Ricky nods. Sharon isn't so sure about the answer herself, but continues with her line of questioning.

"And you know I love you, too?" She asks and they both nod again, Ricky grabbing onto her arm and hugging it. Sharon smiles sadly when she looks at her son before continuing, "Daddy is sick." She says quietly, watching the children's faces worriedly, "And if he comes back, he'll make all of us sick too. So you probably won't see him very much from now on."

Sharon feels Ricky squeeze her arm tightly before looking up at her with those soft brown eyes that reminded her of her sister's, "If he's sick why won't you help him?" He asks.

"Is he going to die?" Emily questions as soon as her brother is finished talking. Sharon can see in her eyes that her daughter was on the verge of tears, and she doesn't like it one bit.

"Your father will be fine." Sharon addresses her daughter's concern first, "And I can't help him, Honey, I wish I could." She shakes her head, her bottom lip protruding in a sad pout, "But all he'll do is make the rest of us sick."

"Will Daddy get better?" Emily questions in her small voice, and Sharon tries to smile.

"I hope so, but I don't know. That's up to him."

"I miss him." Ricky says quietly, still holding Sharon's arm hostage.

"Me too." She kisses her son's head, "I think it's time for bed, don't you?"

"Yeah." Emily yawns, getting up from the couch and pulling on Sharon's hand.

~oOo~

Sitting alone in the darkness of her bedroom, Sharon's mind starts to wander. Her bed, that had been occupied and exciting last night, felt so lonely and cold now. Surprisingly, that was the only thing that felt different since Jack had once again come and gone. Sharon realised how strange it was, being married to a man that was absent more often than not, and how having him around was starting to seem more like a curse than a blessing. They were supposed to be together, through sickness and in health, until death did they part. It seemed like their wedding vows were just another empty promise he'd turned his back on.

Sharon lays back in bed and lets out a deep breath, her thoughts momentarily drifting to Flynn. _Was it possible he was just like her husband?_ Sharon wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.

She closes her eyes and forces herself to sleep, trying her best to keep her mind quiet.

~oOo~

" _Flynn, I'm not lifting your suspension." She responds firmly, "I've told you that already. When the investigation is over, a determination will be made as to the status of your employment with the department. Rules are rules."_

" _Rules are rules." Andy mocks in irritation, scrunching up his nose as he spoke in a high-pitched voice, "Rules are rules."_

" _Could you act like this investigation was an urgent matter, for once in your career?" Sharon questions angrily, glaring at him from across her desk, "This isn't a problem Captain Carbo can get you out of."_

" _Oh, screw you!" Flynn exclaims and stands up to quickly pace around her small office, "You don't get it! You're not out there in the field! If you saw some of the decisions we've had to make, you would understand!"_

 _Sharon stands up from her desk and crosses her arms over her chest, refusing to let Flynn tower over her. She watches him as he continues pacing; when he finally stops and glares at her she speaks, "Everyone seems to forget that I was an officer before my time here." She says coldly, glaring in Flynn's direction, "No one ever seems to wonder as to what led me to FID in the first place. Well let me tell you, Corporal," she emphasises his rank, "that I watched my partner make the wrong call. I watched him shoot and kill an unarmed man simply because the suspect insulted him. So don't you dare think I have no idea what you go through each and every time you go out in the field." She finishes strongly, watching as he walks around her desk and stands in front of her, rage still visible in his tense facial features._

 _Sharon takes a step back and he closes the gap again, opening and closing his fists as he does so. Sharon isn't sure what he's planning, but she can feel her heart beating in her chest and hear the blood pulsing in her ears. He managed to startle her, and that in itself was a feat._

" _Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't." Her voice is soft but holds it's typical strength. She looks up at him, her eyes piercing and jaw tensed in frustration._

" _Why not?" His voice is low and still threatening, his lips still pursed and face angry as he speaks._

" _Did you forget about your suspension? I could make your life a living hell if I wanted to." She threatens, her eyes narrowing when he doesn't back away from her._

" _It can't get much worse." He responds before placing both hands on her cheeks and pressing his lips strongly to hers._

~oOo~

Sharon awakes with a sharp intake of breath and she sits up quickly, trying to regain her bearings. _What a strange dream._ Sharon thinks to herself as she runs her hands through her hair and puts on her glasses. She lets out a deep breath before glancing over at her bedside clock, surprised that she had only slept for two hours. Sharon sighs and gets out of bed, grabbing the book that sat on her bedside table before heading out to the porch.

The alarm on her watch goes off some hours later and she frowns, having only gotten halfway through her novel. It was _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,_ one of her favourites, and although she had read it many times she kept going back to it. Something about it was unexplainably appealing to her and she sighs, marking her page before heading back inside and waking up the kids.

~oOo~

Andy Flynn wakes with a terrible cramp in his neck and he curses under his breath, massaging the area with his hand. He isn't sure what happened last night but his mind is spinning; he could make a guess, and it was by no means one he felt like facing so early in the morning.

"Did you sleep okay?" He hears Miranda ask and turns to quickly look at her, his vision blurring painfully as a result.

"Mhm." Andy nods and closes his eyes in an attempt to restore his vision, "What happened?" He remembered bits and pieces, but he was sure he did something unforgivable if Miranda had made him sleep on the couch.

"You went out, got drunk, forgot to pick up the kids, and had to have your ass hauled out of the bar by Louie." She frowns, still trying to make sense of the stunt her husband had pulled.

"I forgot the kids?" Andy asks breathlessly, almost as if he was in shock, "Oh my god."

"You're lucky Lieutenant Raydor was feeling generous." She states simply as she takes a seat across from him and sips her coffee, "When she found out they were your kids, she took them home with her. Even fed them dinner."

That surprised Andy to say the least, that the Wicked Witch took in his kids, even if only temporarily. Somehow it seemed counterintuitive to think that she, the strict, no-nonsense rule-follower, had been compassionate enough to care for his children while he was off being an inconsiderate asshole.

"That was very kind of her." He nods, picking at the scab on his lip with his teeth.

"You made her out to be such an evil woman," she shakes her head before swallowing her mouthful of coffee, "but she took care of the kids without even hesitating."

Andy purses his lips and thinks for a moment, making a mental note to drop in to work, "I'll stop by the PAB later and thank her. Flowers or a fruit basket?" He asks his wife as he tilts his head.

"That's up to you." Miranda shrugs before getting up from the couch and setting her now empty cup in the dishwasher, "You're the one that's trying to redeem himself, not me."

~oOo~

Sharon Raydor lets out a sigh of relief, delighted not to have bumped into Andy while dropping the kids off at school. The last thing she needed was to be anywhere near him, especially after the strange dream she had had. Buckling her seatbelt and starting the car, she heads towards the PAB, still trying to process the unusual workings of her brain.

There were two things that bothered her about that dream. The first was that dreams were the brain's way of processing information, and the second, which she was reluctant to acknowledge, was that she wanted to kiss Flynn.

She lets out a puff of air as she continues down the highway, trying to make sense of it all. _There is no way I have feelings for him_. She repeats over and over in her head, almost as if trying to convince herself it was true. _He's married, I'm married._ She tells herself, _there are rules against this._

Sharon laughs bitterly to herself as she pulls into the parking garage, _he hates me anyway, why am I even worrying about this?_

She gets out of the car and grabs her purse, quickly heading to her office.


	4. Chapter 4

Andy stands next to her office, a bouquet of pink lilies in his hand. He rocks back and forth on his heels, whistling quietly in an attempt to distract himself from the piercing glares the Rat Squad was throwing at him. He hears the elevator door open and looks to it, watching as Sharon hurries towards her office, currently unaware of his presence. She reaches into her purse and searches for her key as she walks down the corridor, nearly running into Andy.

"Corporal Flynn." She looks up at him startled, the small silver key clutched in her hand, "I'm not lifting your suspension." She states before pushing past him and unlocking her office door.

He follows her into the office, watching as she powers on her computer and set her notebook down on the desk. "I actually came to apologise." He holds out the flowers and she accepts them with a skeptical look, "Thank you for watching Nicole and Michael last night. You didn't need to do that, but Miranda and I are thankful." He glances down at the floor, his hands hidden behind his back.

"It was no trouble at all, really." She shrugs, watching his strange reaction. He seemed more compassionate now than he had in the past, and Sharon wondered why the sudden change. _Maybe he likes you too_. The thought enters her brain and she tries to keep her facial expression neutral. _Miranda is a nice woman, she doesn't deserve this._ She tells herself, the intrusive thoughts still ringing in her brain.

"How's the investigation going?" He questions and looks up at her curiously.

"You have another day, two max before they're done." She forces a smile and sits down before logging into her computer. She's engrossed in booting up the machine, and she looks up, surprised, when Flynn doesn't leave but continues to stand in the middle of her office. "Can I help you with something else, Corporal?" She looks to him, trying to gauge his expression.

"No. No." He shakes his head and turns to leave the office, "Thank you again, Lieutenant."

~oOo~

Sitting in her office and filling out reports, Sharon lets her mind wander for a moment. Flynn showing up at her office and not pestering her about his suspension was a surprise, as were the flowers. She shakes her head as she continues to write, positive that Miranda had made him bring them in an attempt to apologise. Either way, she was glad to see that he was doing better than he had been, and she lets out a deep breath as she fills out her paperwork.

It seemed like the majority of her job required her to fill out paperwork. Mind numbing, boring paperwork. She'd rather do anything than deal with that, but she didn't really have a choice. So she buried her head in her work and pushed on, determined to have a good day. The time came and went, and before Sharon knew it, the clock hanging on her wall told her it was nearing 2:00. She lets out a puff of air and begins cleaning up her office as she prepares to leave for the day. When she hears her phone ring she eagerly picks it up, letting out a groan when she hears her husband's staticky breathing on the other end of the line.

"Jack." She answers, her voice monotone as she continues to place papers in their proper folders.

" _Hey Shar._ " Jack lets out a deep breath before he continues, " _Can you forgive me?"_

Sharon ponders for a moment, trying to compose a response. Of course she wanted him back. He was her husband and the father of her children, and despite his shortcomings, she knew he was a good man. "You have to promise me you'll never do something like that again." She breathes out quietly, "I told Ricky and Emily that you were sick and that you couldn't come home." She admits nervously.

" _Sharon, what the hell?"_ Jack raises his voice slightly, " _Why would you tell them something like that?"_

Sharon lets out a deep breath and rubs her temples before responding, "Because you just leave without any explanation, and it scares them. Because you're supposed to be there for them and you can't even be bothered to stay for more than a day or two."

" _I really am sorry, Sharon."_ He apologises weakly, " _Just… give me a chance to prove it, please."_

"I have to go pick up the kids at school, if you decide you want to be a part of our lives, you know where the key is. But this is it Jack, I'm not giving you any more chances." She says seriously before hanging up the phone.

~oOo~

"Sharon, how are you doing?" Miranda questions, walking quickly to catch up to her as they headed towards the school.

"Good. I'm doing good." Sharon nods, "Thank you for the flowers."

"You can thank Andy for those, not me." Miranda offers a small smile, "It was his idea."

"Well, I appreciate it." Sharon smiles in return as they enter the building, "Makes my office seem a little less dull." She shrugs, not surprised when she sees the children running towards herself and Miranda.

"Mom!" Emily exclaims and wraps her arms around Sharon's leg, "Look at what Nicole and I made!" She holds up her wrist and smiles proudly, "Friendship bracelets!"

"See Mom!" Nicole exclaims and extends her arm to Miranda in a similar fashion.

"Wow." Miranda smiles happily and ruffles Nicole's hair, "You two sure had a busy day."

"Yeah." Emily laughs when Sharon lifts the young girl into her arms.

"Come on you two," Miranda says as she looks to Michael and Nicole, "You want to go to ballet and baseball, don't you?"

"Yes!" Both the Flynn children exclaim excitedly, running out of the school and to the car.

"Are you two ready to go home?" Sharon questions quietly, playing with Emily's hair as she speaks. She debates mentioning that she had talked to Jack, but thinks better of it. The last thing she needed was to tell them their father was coming home, only to have him gone again. She didn't want to hurt their feelings any more, so she just offered a small smile and said, "I have a surprise for you."

"Really?" Ricky asks excitedly, running circles around his mother as she tries to leave the building, "What is it?"

"Momma, what is it?" Emily asks and Sharon just shakes her head as she loads them into the car.

"You'll see when we get home." Sharon responds, hoping that for once Jack would follow through on his promise.

~oOo~

Sharon had to admit she was surprised to see Jack's old, black SUV parked in the driveway. She sees the way her children's faces light up upon recognising the vehicle, and she's grateful that maybe he'd finally managed to pull his head out of his ass and start acting like their father. The front door opens to reveal Jack, and the kids squeal with happiness before running up the sidewalk and to their father.

"Dad, you're home!" Ricky exclaims happily as he and Emily hug Jack, "We missed you!"

"I missed you too." He responds, kneeling down to look at his children as Sharon comes to stand beside them, "Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah!" Emily answers, holding her arm out to her father in the same way she had for Sharon, "Nicky and I made these today!"

"Wow, that is impressive." He says kindly, picking up Emily before turning to Sharon, "Thank you." He says quietly, his gaze drawn to the young girl in his arms, "Thank you, Sharon."

"Don't thank me yet." She says as she walks past him and into the house. Sharon freezes in her tracks when she sees the kitchen in disarray, and she turns back to Jack, a surprised look on her face, "You made dinner?" She asks with shock, "You never cook." She tilts her head and looks at him curiously, a small smile tugging at her lips as she watches Jack carry Emily inside, Ricky running behind them as he laughs.

"I told you," Jack offers a sly smile, "I'm here for good now, Sharon."

~oOo~

"Sharon thought I made you bring her flowers." Miranda smiles to herself as they all eat dinner, watching her husband's reaction with interest.

"She did?" He tilts his head and eyes her, both children looking back and forth each time one of their parents spoke, "And did you just call her _Sharon_?" He questions with narrowed eyes, "Are you two friends now or something?" He asks, concerned that his wife may be friends with the Wicked Witch.

"Yes, we're friends." Miranda lets out a small laugh as she eats her dinner, "Is that a problem?" She questions daringly with a quirked eyebrow.

"No." Andy scoffs and shakes his head, trying not to seem bothered by the prospect, "Not at all, no." He says again, even though he knows Miranda can see right through him.

"Okay, good." She smiles, "How about we invite her and her children over for dinner this weekend then?" She asks, grinning when she sees how Andy's expression changes.

"You can't be serious? You want to invite her over? She has the power to destroy my career, and you want to have dinner with her?" Andy runs a hand through his hair, trying to mask how flustered he was.

"Okay, I won't then." Miranda smirks, enjoying Andy's rather comical reaction, "But if I invite Emily and Ricky over, you'll have to deal with her."

At the sound of their friends name's, both Nicole and Michael look to their mother, "Emmy and Ricky are coming over?" Nicole questions excitedly.

"Maybe this weekend." Miranda replies softly with a small smile, "How about you two get ready for bath time?" She questions, "Daddy can clean up the dishes and then we can watch the television."

Michael and Nicole both get up from the table and run to their rooms, grabbing their pyjamas before hurrying into the bathroom, "Come on Mom, we wanna watch TV!" Nicole explains urgently.

"I'll be right there." Miranda smiles before turning to Andy, "Thank you for cleaning up." She leans across the table and gently pecks his lips, "I appreciate it."

"Yeah." Andy rolls his eyes, "You didn't give me much of a choice."

"Would you rather deal with those two splashing seals?"

"No." Andy chuckles, "I wouldn't. Thank you."

~oOo~

"I mean it, Jack." Sharon says strongly despite the fact that she is half-asleep, "The kids need you here, _I_ need you here." She admits, pulling the quilt tighter around herself in an attempt to keep him from touching her.

"Sweetheart, I told you I'm here for good now, okay?" Jack tries, not surprised that when he reaches out to touch her shoulder that she moves away, "I've learned from my mistakes, I have."

"Where do you go?" She asks, "When you leave us for days at a time, where do you go?"

Jack lets out a deep breath before reaching across the bed and pulling Sharon towards him, despite her weak protest. He didn't want to answer her question, nor was he sure she could handle the truth. So he opted to just hold her, knowing full well Sharon would bring the topic up again later.

"I'm staying this time, Sharon." He promises as he presses his lips to her shoulder, "I won't leave you again."

Sharon purses her lips and pinches her eyes closed, trying her hardest not to cry in front of her husband.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I'm sorry this update is coming so late, I've been busy with school and then the website was down for a few days_

 _T/W: Abuse/violence towards the end of the chapter_

~oOo~

"Congratulations." Sharon smiles brightly, "You've been cleared." She explains, her voice filled with happiness as she reaches into her desk and pulls out a bag containing Flynn's badge and gun, "But _don't,"_ she adds seriously as she passes him the bag, "end up here again."

"I won't; I promise, Lieutenant." He looks to her gratefully before his eyes drift to the contents of the bag, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." She says through pursed lips, "Thank the system you hate so much."

Andy lets out a small chuckle as he opens the bag and hooks his badge onto his belt, "So, I have a question?" He asks cautiously as he inspects his gun before holstering it on his side.

"I told you I'm not going out for drinks." Sharon states monotone, the joy in her features dampened by whatever he is planning to ask her.

"No, not that." Andy responds and shakes his head as he scratches his chin, "Miranda actually was wondering if you and your kids would like to come over for lunch this weekend?"

Andy watches as Sharon instantly becomes flustered, even as she tries to mask it, "Really?"

"Yeah." Andy offers an awkward smile, "She figured the kids could all play and we could get to know each other better."

She eyes him curiously, trying to sum him up, " _You_ want to know _me_ better?" She emphasises with disbelief.

"Any friend of Miranda's is a friend of mine." He shrugs nonchalantly, "How does Saturday at noon sound?"

"Good." Sharon nods unsurely as Andy heads for the door, "But Corporal, one more question." He turns back to look at her and she continues, "Can I bring my husband?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Andy stutters as he leaves her office, _didn't he hear her daughter say he was gone?_

~oOo~

"You are out of your damn mind." Louie Provenza grumbles, fighting the urge to smack his best friend, "Not two days ago we were both bitching about her, and now you're inviting her and her demon-spawn children to your house?!"

"Her kids are not demons." Andy defends weakly as he opens the newspaper on his desk and begins reading it, not entirely paying attention to the man beside him.

"Well she's a demon so her kids must be too." Provenza argues, "I think I need to call you a psych." He scoffs and rolls his eyes, "You're going to have dinner with the Wicked Witch."

"And her husband." Andy responds, his voice soft as if he were talking to himself.

"Her _husband_?" Provenza asks in disbelief, "Someone actually married that thing?"

"She's human just like the rest of us, Louie." Andy retorts, his voice still soft as he continues to read the paper, "Did you ever think that maybe the reason she's so cold is because of the way you talk about her?"

" _Me?_ " Provenza asks in disbelief, leaning forward in his chair to send a hard glare to his partner, "It's _we_ , dumbass. _We_ talk about her, along with three-quarters of the LAPD. What's wrong with you?" He narrows his eyes, trying to understand what he is hearing, "Do you _like_ her?"

The thought hadn't crossed Andy's mind until Provenza said it, and he had to admit it surprised him. Why was he defending her like this? She was known as one of the most ruthless officers in the LAPD, and had a number of harsh codenames as well. Why did he feel the need to stick up for her?

"No. Of course not." He shakes his head, "I'm married, she's married; she's friends with Miranda, so I'm trying to do my best to support my wife, okay? You happy now?" He throws up his hands in defeat and looks to his friend.

Provenza just shakes his head and goes back to his crossword puzzle, confused by his friend's change in behaviour.

~oOo~

Sharon sits in her office, her head in her hands as she lets out a deep sigh. _Fraternisation was against the rules, yet she had somehow found herself accepting Flynn's invitation._

"Damn it." She mumbles to herself, picking up her phone and hastily dialling Flynn's extension. When she hears his voice on the other line, she speaks articulately, "I need to cancel on you." Her voice is unwavering and strong as she awaits his response.

" _Why?"_ The question comes out unsurely and Sharon runs a hand through her hair.

"I forgot my parents are coming to visit this weekend." She lies, hoping Flynn won't catch on.

" _Bring them too then. The more the merrier."_ His voice crackles through the phone and Sharon sighs. It seemed he wouldn't accept no for an answer.

"I don't think so." She shakes her head as she purses her lips, "My mother has a walker, it's hard for her to get around at times."

" _Oh, okay."_ He responds, sounding slightly hurt as he lets out a sigh, " _Can I hold you to a rain check?_ "

"I suppose." Sharon says quietly as she rolls her eyes, "Have a nice weekend, Corporal."

" _You too, Lieutenant."_

Sharon sighs and takes off her glasses, pressing her palms into the hollows of her eyes as she contemplates what to do. She knew that if she called and invited her parents to visit, she'd get an earful from her mother for lying to Flynn. But, if for some reason, she ran into Flynn over the weekend, she knew she'd have some explaining to do. Sharon begins to pack up her belongings in a huff, trying not to let the current situation get the best of her.

She was still a bit surprised at how easily she had lied to Flynn. Sharon prided herself on being honest and trustworthy, but hadn't even hesitated to tell him about her parent's ad-lib visit.

Sharon lets out a deep breath as she slings her heavy purse over her shoulder and heads for the elevators, praying that she didn't run into Flynn at the school.

~oOo~

"No, Daddy, look!" Emily urges, holding up the family picture she had drawn during school that day, "There's you, and Ricky, and Momma."

Jack feigns interest in the crudely drawn picture in front of him before saying, "Your mother doesn't look angry enough."

Sharon hears his words from where she stands in the kitchen, but chooses not to fight with him about it. He seemed rather disinterested in his family today (or maybe he was most days and they just weren't around to notice) and it was bothering Sharon. The previous day he had promised he was coming home for good, that he'd take care of his family and love them the way a father and husband was supposed to. Today, he couldn't seem to care less.

"Dinner's on the table." Sharon calls to the living room, and she can hear two sets of pitter-pattering feet hurrying to the table, followed by the sounds of Jack's uneven gait.

"Thanks, Mom." Ricky smiles at Sharon as she pushes in his chair at the table, followed by Emily's, "What's dinner?"

"Pork chops, scalloped potatoes, and broccoli." She explains as Jack finally makes his way to the table.

"What the hell is this?" Jack questions with displeasure.

"I just told Ricky it's-"

"I just told Ricky it's-" Jack mocks in a high-pitched voice, his face scrunching up as he tries to imitate his wife.

"Jack," his name leaves her mouth sadly, and she can feel her heartbeat quicken in her chest when he looks to her, his eyes full of disdain, "what is wrong with you? Calm down, please." She says softly, her eyes begging and her facial features heartbroken, "Don't do this in front of the kids." She glances at Ricky and Emily out of the corner of her eye, the latter looking as if she would burst into tears at any moment.

"Why not?" He exclaims and raises his hands in the air, "Don't want them to know _Momma_ ," he says the name the way Emily always did, "isn't good enough to take care of her husband?"

"Jack, stop it." Sharon tries, her voice feeble as she struggles to keep the conversation civil, "I don't know what your problem is, but now isn't the time for it."

"Why not?" Jack questions, his voice still booming in her ears, "You never have time for anything Sharon! You _begged_ me to have kids, and you can't even be bothered to repay the favour."

"Jackson!" She hisses, finally allowing her anger to show through, "Hallway. _Now._ " Sharon says, standing up and quickly walking to the hallway on the other side of the house, "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?!" She exclaims, knowing the children could hear her but not caring at all, "Why are you being like this?"

"Well, I was talking to the guys today, and I think I finally realised why they don't like you."

"And why is that?" She asks lowly, her gaze narrowing as she eyes her husband.

"Well, you're never home, and when you are you're too tired to uphold your duties to _me_." He emphasises, "You're cold, and it's obvious you don't give a damn about me, so I'm just giving it right back. Not too fun, now is it?"

"God, Jack," Sharon lets out a shaky breath and turns away from him, pushing a strand of auburn hair behind her ear as she attempts to blink away the looming tears, "you think I don't care?" She looks to him, her eyes reddening with each passing second, "You should know better than that. When I get home from my _demanding_ ," she emphasises, "job, of course I'm tired. And you should know by now that I have no obligation to fulfill your needs, unless I feel those needs as well. If you're that desperate, use your hand." She fires back, a small smirk playing on her lips when she realised how harsh she had been.

"Listen, bitch," Jack hisses and grabs her wrist, the smirk instantly wiped off her face, "you are _my_ wife, which means when you're done kissing those stupid kids goodnight, you do as _I_ say."

"Jack let go of me!" Sharon tries to pull away from him but he only tightens his grip, a devilish grin on his face, "Jack!"

"If you don't listen, worse things will happen." He hisses, forcefully letting go of her wrist. Sharon quickly cradles her wrist; she can tell it isn't broken, but knows it will leave one a hell of a mark, "Now go, hurry up. Don't keep me waiting." He calls as he waves Sharon down the hallway.

She returns to the dining room quickly, not surprised to find Ricky and Emily staring at her in fear. "It's time for bed you two." She says shakily, her injured wrist still held tightly against her body.

"But Mom-" Emily starts but Sharon cuts her off sadly.

"Now." She doesn't say it angrily, but with disappointment as the children head to their rooms.

"We heard you and Dad yelling again." Ricky grumbles as Sharon pulls his shirt over his head.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Baby." She offers a sad smile and presses a kiss to his forehead, "I don't have time to sing you a song or read you a story, but I can tuck you in?" She suggests, not surprised that her son nods, buying her just a few more precious moments away from Jack. "You know Momma loves you, don't you?" She questions, biting back the tears in her eyes as Ricky kisses her cheek.

"I love you, Mom." He says in his small voice, and Sharon hugs him tightly, tucking him into bed before going to Emily's room. She wished there was some way to prevent what she knew was coming, and her hands shake as she tucks Emily into bed.

 _That was the last straw._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I was trying to post chapter 5 while the website was down, and I didn't realise it actually posted._

 _To Thaleis Von Paris: The change in Jack's behaviour from chapters 4 to 5 was caused by him going out with his friends during the day. During his confrontation with Sharon that night he says something along the lines of "I finally figured out why my friends don't like you." He was drunk and spent the entire day with his buddies shit-talking his and Sharon's marriage. That's where the change comes from, and I'm sorry if that was unclear! :)_

~oOo~

"Good morning, Lieutenant." Flynn greets as he walks into the school, surprised that Sharon jumps away from him. He knew she couldn't stand him, but physically jumping away seemed a little much, even for her.

"Morning." She responds curtly before turning and heading out of the school and towards her car. She can hear him jogging after her, and she isn't sure she can talk to him without being reduced to a blubbering mess.

"What's wrong?" He questions, walking quickly in an attempt to keep up with her. He can tell by her disheveled appearance that something isn't quite right, and although he is almost certain she won't provide him an answer, he extends the courtesy of asking.

"It was just a long night." She explains, her voice clipped as she unlocks her car, "Have a good day and a nice weekend." Sharon forces a smile as she starts her car, pulling out of her parking space and onto the highway before Flynn can utter another word.

~oOo~

If Sharon Raydor wasn't at work, she would have most certainly cried. But she refused to show weakness, especially in front of her colleagues, so she continues to fill out her paperwork, despite the burning pain in her wrist.

When the old, black phone on her desk shrieks to life she nearly jumps, taking a moment to catch her breath before answering, "Raydor, Force Investigation Division."

" _Hey."_ Andy's awkward voice greets her and she lets out a frustrated puff of air.

"Corporal." Her voice is steely when she responds, she wasn't particularly in the mood to deal with him today.

" _I was just calling to check on you, make sure everything's okay."_ He explains, and Sharon hears someone make fake vomiting noises in the background.

"I told you I'm fine." She argues, "And tell Sergeant Provenza I heard that."

She listens as Flynn relays her message, letting out a small laugh when she hears Provenza groan in frustration and storm out of the murder room, " _Now, I don't suppose I could offer you lunch?"_ He asks cautiously.

Sharon looks at her watch and sighs, it was nearing that time and she really needed to eat something. She hadn't eaten dinner the previous night or breakfast that morning, and she was rather hungry. "Sure."

" _I'll see you in the cafeteria in ten minutes, then?"_ Andy questions, still not sure she was truly accepting his offer.

"I'll see you then." A small smile graces her face as she carefully hangs up the phone, leaning back in her chair and letting out a deep breath. Seeing Flynn for any amount of time meant that she'd have to pretend she wasn't injured, and she wasn't sure for how long she'd be able to manage that. She knew she should probably go to the doctor and get something for the pain, but the deep purple bruises Jack's fingers had left would raise questions she wasn't prepared to answer.

Letting out a sigh she gets up from her desk and slings her purse over her shoulder, pulling her jacket sleeves down as far as possible before heading to the elevator.

When she steps off of the elevator she is surprised to find Flynn sitting at one of the tables, a plate of food in front of him, and one across from him as well.

"Lieutenant." Andy looks up from the paper he had been reading to offer her a small smile, "I'm glad you could make it."

"Thank you." She smiles back, trying her hardest to keep her facial features unchanged, despite the pain bending her wrist to set down her purse caused, "Now why is it you wanted to meet with me? You must have something up your sleeve." Sharon says, momentarily glancing up from the salad he had bought her to take in his appearance, "Well?"

"Nothing up my sleeves. Promise." Andy returns, rolling up the sleeves of his grey jacket as if to prove his point, "Just trying to mend fences. That's all."

Sharon forces a smile as she shakily picks up her fork and eats her lunch. For some reason, she didn't believe what Flynn was saying but accepted his explanation on the grounds that there was free food involved. He takes a sip of his soda and Sharon looks at him curiously before speaking, "Since when do you care about mending fences?"

She can tell the question nearly causes Andy to spit out his soda, and she's grateful that he manages to control himself. "You're a friend of Miranda's, so I'm making an effort." Sharon rolls her eyes and Flynn narrows his gaze, "What?"

"I've talked to your wife maybe three times. I don't think that exactly makes us friends." She shrugs.

"Well," Andy takes another sip of his soda before continuing, "Mandy doesn't have too many friends. She works long hours at the bank, so it doesn't take much for her to bond with someone."

"Oh." She nods in understanding as she carefully picks up her soda and takes a sip, internally cursing her decision to have lunch with Flynn when she feels the can slip out of her weak grasp and tumble to the table, the soda splashing all over her jacket, the table, and on Flynn as well, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She breathes out quickly, hurrying over to the kiosk and grabbing a handful of napkins to clean up the spill, "Damn it." She grumbles under her breath when she sees the dark stains on her cream coloured jacket, "I'm so sorry, Corporal." She fumbles, still trying to clean up the mess as Andy does the same.

"Don't worry about it." He chuckles, watching her flustered reaction with curiosity, "I'm going to go get a rag from the kitchen, I'll be right back." He says before hurriedly disappearing behind the large silver door.

Sharon sighs as she inspects the damage done to her jacket, dreading the fact that she'd have to spend the rest of the day wearing a sticky, soda covered jacket, or risk drawing attention to her arm. Neither option appealed to her and she debated calling it a day and just going home, but then she remembered who would be waiting there for her and decided wearing her soda-soaked jacket was probably the safest bet.

"Here we go." Andy says as he returns to the table, a soapy rag in his hand, "Let's get this cleaned up." He starts to scrub the table, but looks up when Sharon doesn't say a word, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." Sharon shakes her head and stands quickly so that Flynn can wipe off her side of the table, "I'm really sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Flynn tries but Sharon continues to stand there, a mortified look on her face, "Lieutenant, it's okay." He glances at her worriedly, trying to understand why a spilled soda had distressed her so much.

"I'm sorry, Corporal, I have to go." She blurts out quickly before grabbing her purse and jogging towards the elevator.

~oOo~

"Don't get me unless it's an emergency." Sharon had instructed her division before quickly closing and locking her office door, throwing her purse to the ground, and carefully peeling out of her jacket. She lets out a deep sigh and brings her hands to cover her face, finally allowing her facade to break.

 _It was all too much_. Everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours almost seemed unreal. Jack had hurt her both physically and verbally in ways she never thought him capable of, and she had let him do it. She let him use her body to get himself off, in fear of worse things happening had she not cooperated. Only now, in the sanctuary of her dimly lit, musty office, does Sharon let her emotions out. The tears stream slowly down her cheeks as she cries, standing in her office, her face still covered by her trembling hands.

 _Everything hurt._ The nagging pain in her wrist had been present all day, but only now did she finally allow herself to feel pain in other places. The gently throbbing pain in her hips, where Jack's hands had gripped her tightly and held her in place. The aching discomfort just a bit lower, where Jack had forcefully and hastily entered her. The ringing pain in her skull from crying herself to sleep, just as she was crying now. The pang of sadness in her chest, knowing that this was the life she would have to live from now on, that this was the life her children would have to grow up with.

A sharp set of knocks on the door startles her, and she steadies her voice before asking, "Who is it?"

"Corporal Flynn." His muffled voice greets her in response, and although Sharon is in no mood to talk to him, she knows it would be unprofessional to turn him away.

"Coming." She responds, quickly straightening up her appearance as much as possible before opening the door for him, "How can I help you, Corporal?"

He looks her over with concern, his eyes briefly falling to the bruises on her now-exposed wrist, "What happened?" His voice is soft as he tries to coax the information from her.

"Oh." She glances down at her wrist, acting as if she hadn't noticed the bruising until he pointed it out, "I tripped on one of the kid's toys this morning and fell. It's nothing." She shakes her head, her anxiety increasing when she sees the disbelief in his eyes.

"Look," Flynn sighs and glances down at his hands, "I know you don't like me very much, and I know I came off that way at first too. But despite how I acted towards you, I think you're a good person. And as a detective, I know when someone isn't telling the truth. So, if you decide you want to talk about what really happened, you let me know, okay?" He finally looks up from his hands, not surprised to find a small pout on Sharon's face, "Have a nice weekend." He says before turning and heading back to the elevator bay, not surprised that Sharon doesn't say anything as he goes.

~oOo~

"Mandy, I know what I saw, okay?" Andy tries, looking to his wife for some sort of reaction, "Someone hurt Raydor."

"Why would she lie to you?" Miranda questions, sleepily curling into Andy where they sit on the couch.

"Why would she tell me the truth?" He fires back, "That's not exactly the kind of thing you just tell people about."

"Who do you think would do that to her?" Mandy questions, her eyes fluttering closed even as she tries to hold them open.

"Her husband maybe, a suspect. I don't know." Flynn lets out a deep sigh, "But I have a bad feeling about it."

"Why don't we all drop in and see her this weekend?" She questions as she stifles a yawn, "Maybe something will stand out."

He looks to his wife, a small, proud smile on his lips, "She told me her parents are visiting this weekend. But it was a good idea." He chuckles, "I thought I was supposed to be the cop, not you."

"I learned from the best." She smiles, her eyes still closed, "You know we could still stop by for a couple minutes, I could make brownies. Just drop them off and see what we can find out."

"I like that idea." Andy nods in agreement, "Thank you for helping."

"She's my friend." Mandy mumbles sleepily and Andy can't help but smile, remembering what Sharon had said about their friendship earlier in the day.

~oOo~

"Mom, I need your help." Sharon whispers quietly, pushing herself out of bed and carefully shutting the door so as not to wake her husband, "Mom!" Sharon raises her voice slightly once she makes it outside, "I know it's late, but this is important."

" _Sharon, sweetheart, is that you?"_ Her mother questions, and Sharon can tell that she had woken her, " _Honey, what's wrong?"_

"Mom, it's," Sharon lets out a sigh and rubs her temples, pushing back the tears that were begging to fall, "it's Jack. He… He…" Sharon pushes back a sob, trying to keep herself together.

" _Shay, deep breaths."_ Her mother coaxes, " _What's wrong? Are you alright?"_

"No, Mom, I'm not." Sharon shakes her head, her voice breaking as she admits it, "Jack he… He hurt me. I don't know what to do." Sharon finally allows herself to cry, not surprised that she can hear her mother shuffling around on the other end of the line.

" _Conrad, wake up."_ Sharon hears her mother say, " _Sharon needs us."_

" _Betty, it's late."_ Her father's voice filters through the phone, his tone instantly changing when he realises what his wife had said, " _Is that her on the phone?_ "

" _It is."_

" _Let me talk to her."_

" _Shay, your father wants to talk to you, sweetheart. I'm going to put him on for you."_

"Thank you, Mother." Sharon forces a watery smile, waiting for her father to get ahold of the phone.

" _Hi, Pumpkin."_ Conrad greets, his voice deep and hazy with sleep, " _Now, what is it your mother's on about? Is everything okay?"_

"No." Sharon shakes her head, not particularly wanting to go over everything again, "And I know it's late, but I need your help. I can't keep doing this."

" _Doing what?"_ Her father asks with concern, already not liking where the conversation seemed to be headed, " _Shay?"_

"He just…" Sharon lets out a deep breath and thinks for a moment. She was talking to her father, the retired judge who was known for ruling with an iron fist. He'd have a field day with this, and she knew it. "He keeps forcing himself on me, holding me down; he said if I don't do what he wants he'll hurt me even more and I … I just need your help."

" _He what?!_ " Conrad responds loudly, causing Sharon to pull the phone away from her ear, " _That son of a bitch! Sharon, your mother and I ar_ e _coming down there_ ; _I'll put a stop to this."_ He promises, his voice filled with rage, " _How long has this been going on for?"_

"Dad, you don't need to come down here. It's a long drive." Sharon tries, "I just need some advice."

" _My advice,"_ Conrad grumbles, " _is that you let your parents take care of this, okay, sweetheart?"_ He asks, his voice softening yet still filled with anger, " _Now I'll ask you again, how long has this been going on for?"_

Sharon lets out a deep breath and runs a hand through her hair. There was so much her parents didn't know. They didn't know that Jack more or less showed up at their home when it was convenient for him, they didn't know that he'd been doing that for years, and they had no idea the pain he had caused their daughter in the past. She hadn't told them because she didn't want them to know they had been right. When she and Jack had gotten married they were just out of high-school, trying to find their places in the world. Her mother had warned her that they were too young, that there was no way she had seen Jack's true colours after such a short period of dating. And Betty had been right, but Sharon kept quiet. Her family was very Catholic, and she knew that up until now, her parents would have frowned upon a divorce. But with the events of the past few days, she knew her parents would be more than ecstatic to rid their daughter and grandchildren of such a despicable man.

" _Shay?_ " Her father questions after a long silence, " _Sweetheart?"_

"I'm here. I'm sorry. I was thinking." She admits, wrapping a long strand of hair around her finger, "Things with Jackson have been bad for a long time, just not like this." She shakes her head sadly, "I should've told you sooner."

" _Your mother and I are leaving as soon as we get a bag packed, we'll see you in the morning. Are you and the kids safe?"_

"I think so." She sighs unsurely, "Everyone's sleeping right now."

" _Okay now sweetie, this is what you're going to do:"_ Conrad explains, " _You're going to go to Emily's room and sleep in her bed, and if Jackson tries_ anything _,"_ he emphasises angrily, " _you call one of your cop friends. You understand me?"_ He questions sharply.

"Dad, you two don't need to come down here. It's a long drive and with the way mom's been-"

" _Your mother is fine."_ He responds seriously, " _Now you do what I told you, we'll be there in the morning. We love you."_

"Thank you." Sharon breathes out gratefully, "I love you too."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update this story. I've been bogged down with college work and midterms, but the snowstorm has given me some downtime. Thanks everyone for the support of this story, it means the world to me._

~oOo~

"Wake up." Jack's gravelly voice startles Sharon and she protectively pulls a sleeping Emily closer to her, "Your parents are here."

Sharon blinks a few times as she takes in her surroundings, her eyes falling to the sleeping child in her arms, "Thank you." She says quietly and pushes herself out of bed, cradling Emily against her chest to keep Jack from touching her as she heads for the door. "I'm so glad you're here." Sharon breathes out with relief, hugging both of her parents tightly, "Thank you."

"Where is he?" Her father whispers lowly, gently pushing past his daughter to peer into the house.

"Dad, stop." She says softly, her eyes drifting down when she feels Emily shift in her arms.

"No, Shay, I will _not_ stop." Her father responds seriously, his voice low in an attempt not to wake the youngest Raydor, "If you think I'm going to stand by and let him treat you like this, I swear-"

"Connie, calm down, please." Betty tries, reaching out and putting a calming hand on her husband's arm, "It's still early; we've been up all night, and Sharon's had a rough couple of days. Let's give everyone some time to get situated." She tries, forcing a smile in the same way Sharon always does.

"Betty, I can't calm down." His voice is still quiet but Sharon can sense his anger, "Aren't you furious about this?"

"Yes. I am." She nods, "But starting a commotion at eight in the morning isn't going to help anyone."

"Come on, let's get you inside." Sharon steps out of the doorway so that her parents can enter, her father first helping Betty with her walker before pulling their suitcase through the door, "Please try and be civil." She whispers to her father, knowing that Jack will make an appearance at any given moment, "For the children." She adds, hoping that her father won't start a commotion in front of his grandchildren.

"Momma." Emily says sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she looks around.

"Good morning, sweet pea." Sharon says in a soft voice as she shifts Emily to her other hip, "Guess who's here?"

"Who?" Her voice is still sleepy, and Sharon can tell that she hadn't woken up yet.

"Is that my Peanut?" Betty asks with excitement, coming into the living room where Sharon is standing.

"Nana!" Emily exclaims happily and extends her arms to her grandmother. Sharon starts to pass Emily to her mother but stops short when she sees Conrad return to the living room, shaking his head 'no.' Sharon shoots him a perplexed look, and he responds by mouthing the words 'let her sit.'

"Mom, sit down. I'm sure you're tired." Sharon tries, watching the way Conrad's facial features relax upon seeing his wife sit, "Do you want coffee, tea?"

"Tea." Betty nods happily as Emily squirms in her lap, "Con, do you want coffee?"

"Please." He nods, watching his granddaughter's reaction upon hearing his voice.

"Grumpy!" Emily exclaims and jumps off of the couch before running over and hugging her grandfather, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too." He grunts as he picks her up, "How's school?" He questions, letting out a chuckle when Emily takes the square, silver glasses off of his face and tries them on.

"Good." Emily squints as she tries to see with his glasses, "Ricky and I have friends there."

"Really?" He questions and he offers a small smile to his daughter as she prepares their drinks, "What're their names?"

"Nicole and Michael." Emily smiles proudly, "Momma is friends with their parents too."

"Honey, what did I tell you?" Sharon questions as she brings her parents their drinks and takes a seat beside her mother on the couch.

"Okay, Momma doesn't think she's friends with them but she is." The young girl giggles when she sees her mother's disapproving look.

"Do you want to go wake up your brother?" Sharon questions, letting out a relieved breath when Emily nods and runs down the hallway. "Okay, that should give us a few minutes to talk." Sharon says regretfully.

"We're just here to make sure you're safe, Shay." Betty finally speaks up, reaching out and squeezing her daughter's hand as a strand of silver hair falls in front of her face, "As your parents it's our job."

"Now, can you tell me what happened?" Conrad questions, his voice soft as he clasps his hands together in his lap, "Or if you don't feel comfortable you can just tell your mother."

"No," Sharon shakes her head, taking in her father's appearance. She isn't sure if it's because of what they are talking about or her mother's declining health, but his face seems longer, more drawn and sad. His short, white hair is combed back, and his striped shirt is tucked into his tan trousers. He looks as honourable as always, but there is something different about his face that Sharon can't quite place, "I need to tell you." She sighs, forcing a smile when she feels Betty squeeze her hand. "Things haven't been good for a long time now, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want to prove you right."

"Shay, if he's been hurting you for years now-" Conrad grumbles, but Sharon cuts him off.

"Not physically." She shakes her head and lets out a deep breath, "It started when I was helping him get through law school. He stopped coming home, or when he did come home it'd be late and he'd be so drunk…" Her voice trails off as she recalls the bitter memories, "Then I got pregnant with Ricky and he got better. He was around more often; it seemed like he got his act together. Then Ricky was born and Jack disappeared again. He'd show up for a day or two, then leave again. He's been doing that for years now. I have a friend that keeps tabs on him for me, and apparently he has a gambling addiction, along with being an alcoholic. Two days ago he snapped." She shivers, "He said that it was my job to keep him satisfied," Sharon says the word with disgust, "and when I argued with him, he…" She lets out a deep breath and rolls up the sleeve of her sweater so that her parents can see the bruise, "he told me if I didn't let him do what he wanted to me, that worse things would happen. And then last night-"

"Grumpy!" Ricky exclaims and bursts into the living room, "Nana!"

Conrad pushes down his anger, greeting Ricky with feigned joy, "If it isn't my little man!" He smiles happily when Ricky crawls onto the big armchair and sits on his lap, "Hey, Bud!"

"Hi, Grumpy!" Ricky offers a small, tired wave before rubbing his eyes, and Sharon smiles fondly, the name her children had given to her father something she still finds adorable.

"Grumpy, play your harmonica!" Ricky asks with excitement, trying to reach into Conrad's pockets to find what he is looking for, "Please!"

"Okay, alright." Conrad picks up Ricky and sets him on the ground so that he can stand and reach into his pocket to grab his harmonica, "Sharon, why don't you go talk to your mother?" He questions, motioning with his eyes for them to go to the kitchen and continue the conversation, "I'll keep an eye on these two."

"Thanks, Dad." Sharon offers a small smile, helping her mother get ahold of her walker before they both go to the kitchen.

"Did he do that to you?" Betty asks, her voice sharp and bitter despite how happy she had acted in the other room.

Sharon can't muster a response so she nods, her eyes drawn to the living room where she watches her father play his trusty harmonica, the kids standing around him, laughing and clapping excitedly.

"What else happened, Shay?" Her mother asks softly as she reaches out and gently squeezes her daughter's shoulder, "Your father and I can help you, if you tell us."

Sharon swallows a deep breath and looks at her mother sadly before carefully rolling down the waistline of her sweatpants to reveal the other bruises Jackson had left. Sharon looks back out to the living room and meets her father's eyes, her children completely oblivious to the trauma around them, "He held me down and when I fought him," Sharon winces as she rolls her pants back up, "he wouldn't stop. And last night he did it again. I didn't try to fight him. I just let him do what he wanted because I didn't want him to hurt me." She breathes out with embarrassment.

"Oh, sweetheart," Betty breathes out, a frown playing on her lips when her deep blue eyes meet her daughter's green ones, "come here." She opens her arms and Sharon gratefully accepts, holding tightly to her mother as she tries to regain her composure. "I'm so sorry. It's okay, deep breaths." Betty coos as Sharon gently cries, "We'll take care of this, I promise."

"I want a divorce." The words leave her mouth before Sharon understands their implications, and she is surprised that her mother only nods in agreement.

"Now, Shay," Betty squeezes her daughter's arm again, nodding as she composes a response, "you need to think about this. Divorce isn't a word to just throw around," Sharon lets out an exasperated puff of air and glances away from her mother, "but in this case, I think it would be best to at the very least separate. He's hurting you, hurting your family, and making you afraid to sleep at night in your own home. You need to get him out of your life."

"And you had to drive all the way down here to tell me that?" Sharon questions sadly, crossing her arms over her chest as she watches Conrad continue to distract the kids.

"Not at all." Betty shakes her head, "I could've told you that last night when we talked. But your father and I wanted to see what was happening ourselves, and give Jack a piece of our minds." She finishes with anger.

"Mom, please don't." Sharon breathes out, "I appreciate you two making the trip down here, but having Dad start a fight with Jack isn't going to change anything. After you two go back to Salt Lake, I'll find a lawyer and get things rolling in the right direction."

"Sweetheart, you honestly think your father is going to make it through the weekend without snapping on Jackson?" Betty questions with a nervous chuckle, "It was all I could do to keep him from speeding all the way down here."

"Maybe it'd be best for everyone if we left and let Dad and Jack to sort it out." Sharon smirks as she and her mother head back towards the living room.

"Maybe." Betty shrugs, "Maybe."

~oOo~

"Nicole! Michael! If you want to go see Emily and Ricky you better be downstairs in the next two minutes!" Miranda yells up the steps as Andy hands her the still-warm pan of brownies, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asks cautiously, not surprised to find Andy shrugging in response.

"I don't want to pry, but if she's in danger then something needs to be done. It's not about whether or not _I_ think it's a good idea, it's about whether or not some kind of action needs to be taken." He sighs and scratches his chin when he hears the kids running down the stairs, "Come on kids, let's go." Andy looks down at Nicole and Michael, both with excited grins plastered on their faces, "We'll stop by and say hello to Miss. Sharon, then we can go to the playground, okay?" He kneels down so that he's eye level with his children, not surprised that they look even more excited by the prospect of going to the playground.

"Come on, Dad, let's go then!" Michael pushes Andy towards the door, Miranda laughing as they went.

"Do you think she'll be mad that we're just showing up unannounced?" Miranda asks idly as they start down the road, "Since her parents are visiting and all."

"She probably will be, but I don't really care." Andy shrugs, "Besides, her parents might be there because of what I saw. It sounded like an impromptu visit."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate us stopping by once she understands why." Miranda tries hopefully as they pull into Sharon's driveway.

"God, I hope so." Andy sighs and rubs his temples as he parks the car and opens his door, both he and Miranda unbuckling the kids and watching with amusement as they run to the door and press the doorbell. "Michael, stop it." Andy sighs when his son presses the button for the third time.

"Sorry." He pouts and looks to his father, the four of them waiting for someone to come to the door.

Andy looks up when he hears the locks clicking, and when the door opens to reveal Sharon, he offers a small smile. "What are you doing here?" She tilts her head to the side as she looks from Andy and Miranda to their children, "I wasn't expecting more company today." She rolls her eyes sarcastically.

"Actually, I just…" Miranda fumbles with the pan, "I just wanted to drop off these brownies and then we'll get out of your hair." She smiles and hands them to Sharon.

"Oh, thank you." She takes them from Miranda, a perplexed look on her face.

"Shay, who's at the door?" Betty asks and Andy instantly perks up, wanting to see how the Wicked Witch reacted to having her mother around.

"Someone from work." Sharon calls back, "Go sit down. I'll be right back."

"I'd like to meet them." Betty tries persistently, and the wheels of her walker can be heard as she comes to the door and pulls it open, "Hi." She looks with curiosity from Andy to Miranda and then to the children, "I'm Betty O'Dwyer, Sharon's mother." She extends her hand to Andy and then to Miranda.

"Wait, you're an O'Dwyer? Like _the_ O'Dwyers?" Andy asks with interest, and Sharon sends a soft glare to her mother.

"Shay didn't tell you that?" Betty questions.

"Okay, well I'm glad you got to embarrass me." Sharon breathes out in a huff, "Flynn, Miranda, thank you for the brownies. I'm sure the kids will love them."

"Aren't you going to invite your friends to stay for lunch?" Betty asks even as Sharon tries to nudge her out of the doorway.

"Actually, we already have plans." Andy shrugs, "But we appreciate the offer."

"Nonsense!" Betty pushes the door back open even as Sharon tries to close it, "Come in, stay for lunch!"

Miranda looks at her husband before turning to Sharon, all three of them wearing the same awkward expression, "Okay." Andy nods unsurely, following Betty into the house despite Sharon's minor protest.

Andy is surprised that Nic and Michael don't immediately run to their friends but instead stay close to himself and Miranda. Only then does he notice the tall, grey-haired man in the living room, playing with Raydor's children.

"Dad, we have guests." Sharon calls and the trio look up, Emily and Ricky hurriedly running over to their friends.

"Hi guys!" Ricky exclaims and waves, "Do you wanna play _Chutes and Ladders_?"

"Yeah!" Nicole responds, all four kids running down to the basement.

"Hi." Sharon's father offers a small wave as he walks over to the doorway, offering his hand to Andy and then to Miranda, "Conrad O'Dwyer."

"It's an honour to meet you, Sir." Andy nods, "I had no idea you were Raydor's father. That explains a lot." He chuckles, surprised to find a bright red blush working its way across Sharon's face.

"Well, Shay doesn't like people knowing that." Conrad shrugs,"She wanted to make her own way without my help. I respect that." He nods.

"Okay, Dad, that's enough." Sharon tries as she heads to the kitchen, "They came by for lunch, not to hear my life story."

"Two birds with one stone." Conrad laughs when Sharon glares at him, "Besides, lunch won't be ready for a bit yet."

"Oh. We should maybe," Miranda points to the door awkwardly, "if we're intruding at all or-"

"Not at all, young lady." Conrad shakes his head, "We were just getting ready to sit out on the porch and have something to drink. Follow me." Conrad starts for the sliding glass door that leads to the backyard, Miranda and Andy following behind.


	8. Chapter 8

"Momma," Sharon turns quickly in her chair when she feels a tug on her wrist, "where's Daddy?"

"He's in his room, baby, what's the matter?" She questions, eyeing her daughter with concern.

"We accidentally broke one of the pieces and we thought maybe he could fix it." Emily admits sheepishly.

"I could take a look at it." Flynn suggests and Sharon nods.

"I'd appreciate it." She offers a smile, "Jack hasn't been feeling too well and I'd hate for her to wake him." She adds, not surprised that her father sends her a hard glare, "I should go check on him."

"Shay, are you sure that's a good idea?" Betty asks, following her inquiry by adding, "I don't want you to get sick too."

"I'll be fine, Mother, thank you." Sharon nods, she and Flynn stepping back into the house. "The kids should be in the basement." She opens the white, wooden door for Flynn, "If you need anything to fix it, ask my dad. I'm going to go check on my husband." She lets out a deep breath before turning and heading down the hallway.

 _She isn't sure this is the right idea._ She knows Jack is hiding. That had been evident the moment he closed the bedroom door, not even bothering to make an appearance all morning or afternoon. She doesn't want to talk to him, hell, she doesn't even want to be living with him right now, but she is. And Sharon is determined to make the best of the situation, and she is determined to make him act like the father of her children for once in his goddamn life.

"Jack." Sharon opens the door to their bedroom with conviction, surprised to find him sitting in bed and watching the television, "We have guests."

"Your parents. I know, and I hate them." He doesn't even bother to look away from the screen when he talks.

"I actually meant my corporal, his wife, and their kids. And it'd be nice to look like I'm married and not just some psycho with an imaginary husband."

"I'll make a deal with you." Jack says, and Sharon lets out a deep breath, cutting him off before he can continue.

"You know what, stay in here. I shouldn't have to beg you to act like a father." She runs a hand through her hair in exasperation as she turns for the door, stopping when she hears Jack's voice behind her.

"And I shouldn't have to beg you for sex." He responds and Sharon slams the door and walks quickly out to the living room.

"Hey." Flynn startles her, "Do you have any superglue?"

"Let me get it for you." She responds and opens a drawer, handing him the small bottle.

"Thank you." He takes it from her and glances down at the floor as he rocks back and forth on his heels, "So, do you want to talk about what happened the other day?" He asks cautiously.

"It's under control." She offers him a forced smile, "I appreciate your concern, but it's nothing to be worried about. And if that was the reason you stopped by in the first place, it was completely unnecessary."

"If it gives you any sort of comfort to have us here, then it wasn't unnecessary." He offers a small smile before turning and heading back downstairs.

Sharon lets out a deep breath and runs a hand through her hair before going back out to the patio, surprised to find her parents talking idly with Miranda. Her mother looks up upon her return and offers a sad smile.

"How's Jack doing, Honey?"

"Same as he's been." Sharon shrugs as she sits back down and takes a sip of her drink, surprised to find her father opening and closing his fist in an attempt to suppress his anger.

"What's wrong with him?" Miranda asks curiously, "I have some friends that are doctors, I could ask one of them to take a look at him if you'd like."

"He's fine". Sharon and both of her parents respond in unison, "It's just a cold, he'll be over it in a few days." Sharon adds, trying not to alert Miranda to the situation, "Mom, is lunch almost ready?" She asks, hoping desperately to change the topic.

"It should be; I'll go check it if you want to come with me." Betty says and motions with her eyes for Sharon to follow her to the kitchen, "What happened?" She whispers lowly as soon as they're out of earshot of the patio, "Shay, if he did anything I swear-"

"He just talked." Sharon breathes out with relief, "I didn't get close enough for him to touch me. I asked him to come out and at least act like their father and he said he'd only do it if I had sex with him and," Sharon covers her eyes as she takes a deep breath, "I just… I can't keep doing this."

"Hey, come here." Betty wraps her arms around Sharon and once again holds tightly to her daughter as she weeps quietly. When she hears someone coming up the stairs she whispers in Sharon's ear, trying to mask the sound of the coming visitor in order to protect her daughter.

Andy turns the corner, the tube of glue held in his hand. He opens his mouth to say something, but when he sees Betty standing there with Sharon he stops in his tracks. She motions with her eyes for him to place the glue on the table and then go back outside and he silently obliges, trying his hardest to get through the house undetected.

"Okay. I'm okay." Sharon says shakily, almost as if she is trying to convince herself it's true, "Thank you." She forces a smile as she breaks the hug, "How about lunch?"

"That sounds good, Sweetheart." Betty squeezes Sharon's hand encouragingly, "You go get everyone and I'll work on setting the table, okay?"

"I'll help you when I come back. I'm sure Flynn and Miranda will too."

"Go. I can handle it." Betty waves her daughter away, quickly grabbing the glue and putting it back in the drawer before Sharon can even notice its return.

When Sharon makes it back out to the patio she stops in her tracks, a perplexed look on her face. "Flynn, I thought you were still downstairs helping the kids?"

"I was." He stutters awkwardly, "Emily said it'd be better if I went out the door down there and walked around outside." He shrugs, hoping his lie had convinced her.

"Okay…" She continues to eye him unsurely, "Well, Mom's setting lunch out if you're ready to come inside."

"Sounds good to me." Conrad breaks the uncomfortable silence, rising from his chair and heading inside, "I'll go get the kids."

"I'll come with you." Miranda pipes up, following Conrad inside and leaving Sharon and Andy on the patio.

"I know what happened." Andy breathes out nervously, "I'm sorry."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sharon tries as she pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.

"About your husband."

"Oh." Sharon shrugs and dismisses his concern with a wave of her hand, "He's just sick right now, nothing to be sorry for."

"Right." Andy nods and starts for the door, "That's what I was talking about."

Sharon watches him disappear into the house, a perplexed look on her face.

~oOo~

"We came home from work one night," Conrad laughs loudly, all of the adults once again outside on the patio, "and Shay's car was gone. Now it was almost midnight, so Betty and I think she's out doing God knows what." Sharon sends her father a glare, but he continues his story, "I get a call from one of my friends on patrol telling me they found her car at the library, and that there was a busted window out front. I couldn't believe my eldest daughter broke into the library to _study_." He finishes with a hardy laugh.

"I was studying for my senior finals." Sharon responds curtly before picking up her drink and heading inside the house, "It was important." She breathes out with conviction, pulling the sliding glass door closed and letting out a deep breath. She enjoyed having her parents around, but dreaded knowing they would jump on any and every opportunity they saw to embarrass her.

Setting her wine glass down on the kitchen island and rubbing her temples, she lets out a deep sigh. The Flynns weren't even supposed to stop by today, but now it's nearing seven-o'clock at night, and they are still sitting on the porch mingling with her parents.

It was unsettling to say the least. Sharon made it a rule not to socialise with her coworkers, yet she found Flynn had been an exception. He had managed to meet her parents, pry into her social life, and learn some of her most embarrassing moments all in one evening. Sharon would've considered it the evening from hell, but she was glad to have the company-glad to have outsiders there to distract herself and her parents from the turmoil bubbling just below the surface.

She looks up when she hears the door squeak open, surprised to find Flynn walking into the house. He glances at Sharon as he heads towards the island, setting down his beer mug and leaning against the counter, watching her sympathetically.

"What did he do to you?" Andy asks quietly and when he looks to Sharon, the expression of disappointment on her face makes him regret voicing his question.

"I don't even know you." She responds, her face heavy with sadness, "I don't even know you, and you come into my life, into my home, asking questions you have no right to know the answer to." Her voice is distant as she speaks, her eyes focused on nothing in particular as she lets out a deep breath.

"I don't have to know you to tell he's been hurting you. We're cops, you know the training we go through; we're meant to pick up on these things. Which is why I continue to ask you: What did the asshole do to you?"

"Nothing." Sharon shakes her head, trying to push back the tears waiting in her eyes, "Nothing any of you can change. This is something I have to do on my own."

"But it doesn't have to be." Andy suggest softly, surprised to find rage growing on her features at his comment.

"What are you going to do?" She asks, her voice monotone and full of bitter anger when she speaks, "Beat him up for me? Nothing you or anyone else could do is going to change the outcome. Stop acting like you know me and care about my wellbeing." Sharon thinks about asking him to leave, but changes her mind when Flynn speaks again.

"I know you like to act like nothing hurts you, but you're just as human as the rest of us. I know you're the mother of two _fantastic_ kids, whom mine care very much for. I know you're afraid that if people see the caring, compassionate side of you, that they'll use it as a weapon. That's why you're always so cold, so distant. But you don't have to be. Because Miranda and I, we're your friends, and we'll do what we can to help you through this."

"You just throw that word around, don't you?" She questions, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation, "Next you'll be telling me I'm friends with Provenza!"

"No, I won't!" Andy raises his voice to match Sharon's, "The difference between me and Provenza is that _I_ give a damn, okay?!"

"What?" Sharon freezes and looks at him, her eyes wide with concern.

"I… I care about you, okay? And normally when you care about someone, you're friends with them. Which is why I keep saying you're my friend." He breathes out and runs a hand through his hair anxiously.

Sharon still stands frozen, trying to formulate a response. _He cares about her_. That vocalisation hits her like a ton of bricks, and she wonders what she had done to earn his compassion in the first place. She was fond of him too, and while she accepted that fact, she found it hard to believe that _anyone_ could care about her as well, even in a platonic capacity.

"You want to know what he did?" Sharon asks in a small voice.

"If you'll tell me." Andy tries.

"Follow me." Sharon responds quietly, heading down the hallway and to the spare bedroom. Andy isn't sure what is happening but he goes after her, hoping to finally get some answers.

Andy almost second-guesses his decision when Sharon both closes and locks the door to the room, looking anxious as she searches his features for a reaction.

"What are you…?" His voice trails off sheepishly as Sharon walks past him and comes to stand in the middle of the room.

"You saw my arm before." She says quietly, her figure seeming to shrink with each passing second.

"Yes, I did." Andy responds slowly.

"There's more to it than that." Sharon breathes out with defeat as she sits on the bed and closes her eyes, "It's so much more complicated than that."

"You can trust me." Andy tries as he sits next to her, his hands resting loosely in his lap.

"He held me down." She admits, her eyes still closed and head hung as she speaks, "He held me down and… and did _things_." Her voice hitches in her throat and she continues, "If I didn't let him, he said he'd do worse."

"What?" Flynn's voice comes out angrily, and although her eyes are closed, Sharon can feel the gentle tug of the quilt as he bunches it up in his fists, "That asshole!" Flynn exclaims and he heads for the door, Sharon's small voice bringing him back.

"Don't." She says as her eyes slowly flutter open, "It's not worth it."

"The hell it isn't!" He exclaims, throwing his hands up as he paces the room.

She pouts, watching as the man she considered to be a stranger paces around her bedroom, trying his hardest not to beat the crap out of her husband, "That's why my parents are here." She admits, "And as soon as they leave, I'm going to my lawyer."

"Good. That's good." Flynn responds, ceasing his pacing as he rubs his temples, "Why didn't you say something? To me or Mandy?"

"We aren't friends, remember?" Sharon offers sarcastically in an attempt to calm him down, "I'm sorry, this isn't a joke." She shakes her head and sniffles before continuing, "I was afraid; I _am_ afraid, and I think that kept me from telling anyone in a position to help me. It's embarrassing." She reaches up and wipes a tear from her eye, "It's embarrassing to think that my husband, the father of my children would treat me this way. It's embarrassing to admit, and I…" her voice breaks but she forces herself to keep talking, "The more times I explain it to people, the more it hurts me."

"I'm sorry." Andy breathes out sadly as he comes to sit beside her again, "You don't deserve this."

"Ha." Sharon laughs bitterly, "He seems to think I do."

"Well he's a piece of shit." Andy grumbles in return and Sharon offers a small smile, glad he had no problem uttering the expletives she always avoided, "Is he even sick?"

"No." Sharon shakes her head and wipes her eye again, "But I wasn't going to tell the truth to people I'm not even sure I can trust."

Andy lets out a deep breath before turning and looking at her, "Why are you having such a hard time trusting Miranda and me?"

"Because the people I'm supposed to trust seem to always screw me over." Sharon turns to look at him, letting her hands fall to her lap as she does so, "Besides, you've created more problems and paperwork for me in this last year than your entire department combined."

"Does that make me a bad person?" He questions seriously, "Does that mean you can't trust me? I'm a cop for God's sake, people are supposed to trust me."

"I don't even know you." Sharon breathes out again, "Give it time."

"Okay, well," Andy stands up and runs a hand through his hair uncomfortably, "thank you for telling me."

She stands as well, looking to him with eyes full of sadness, "Please, don't tell anyone."

"But-"

"If you want me to trust you," Sharon cuts him off, "please, just do this for me."

"Okay." He nods in understanding, "I can do that."

"Thank you." She breathes out gratefully as they exit the room, both grabbing their drinks and heading back outside.


	9. Chapter 9

"I like them." Betty nods in approval before closing and locking the front door of the house, "They seem nice."

"They are." Sharon nods awkwardly, trying to keep from blushing, "Did you two have to embarrass me so much?"

"Of course we did, Pumpkin." Conrad chuckles before wrapping an arm around Sharon and giving her a side-hug, "Of course we did."

Sharon lets out a puff of air and rolls her eyes before asking, "Are we going to talk about why you're really here?"

Betty looks from her daughter to her husband and forces an uncomfortable smile, "Your father and I'll go talk some sense into that terrible man, if you'll let us."

Sharon looks to Conrad and lets out a small sigh. "It's late, the kids are in bed, and I know it won't be a civil conversation. Honestly," she shrugs, "I don't need you to talk to him. I just… need to get the ball rolling in the right direction. And I think having the two of you here has definitely helped, but I'm an adult, and the choices _I've_ made despite your warnings are what put me in this position in the first place, and I need to fix it. I need to fix this." She breathes out, her gaze far off, "This ends. Now."

"Shay, what are you doing?" Betty calls with concern, watching as her daughter hurries down the hallway, "Sharon!"

She stops at the closet and pulls down a suitcase before continuing down the hallway, quietly opening and closing the bedroom door so as not to wake the children.

"Jack, pack this." She throws the suitcase on the bed beside him, "You're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

"Like hell I am." He responds carelessly, "What, Mommy and Daddy manage to convince you I'm a bad guy?"

"This has nothing to do with them." Sharon breathes out seriously as she crosses her arms over her chest, "You know exactly what this is about, and I'm done. I want you out of my house and away from my children immediately."

"Really, Sharon?" Jack returns bitterly, his eyes locking with hers, "Are you still crying wolf about what happened the other night? Give it a rest already."

"No. I _will not_ give it a rest." She says, her voice low with anger, "I will not give _this_ a rest." She hisses, rolling up her sleeve and extending her arm towards him, "It doesn't matter that we're married, this is _abuse_."

"Or just us trying something kinky." Jack grins slyly, and it's all Sharon can do to keep from slapping that arrogant smirk right off of his face.

"That is not what that was and you damn well know it." Her voice still rumbles low with anger as she glares at him over the frames of her glasses, "This isn't open for discussion. First thing tomorrow morning, you are _gone,_ do you understand me? You don't belong here anymore."

" _I_ don't belong here?" Jack questions with disbelief, "You have _my_ last name. Those kids have _my_ last name. That rock on your finger, _I_ gave that to you. You have no right to tell me I don't belong here."

"You just have to wait until a bad time to hold this marriage over my head, don't you?!" Sharon responds, her voice raising in volume as angry tears bite at the corners of her eyes, "It doesn't matter that we're married when you run off to Las Vegas to gamble and get lucky!"

"What did you just say to me?" Jack questions, his eyes dark with rage as he gets out of the bed and comes to stand inches away from Sharon, "I asked you a question, bitch."

"You run off for weeks at a time to gamble and screw cheap hookers; does our marriage still matter then?" Her voice is quiet yet unwavering, her eyes locked on Jackson's despite how scared she is.

"Who told you that?" His voice is still full of rage, his eyebrows knitting together in displeasure, "You better fucking tell me, or else."

"You think I can't find these things out? I'm a police officer." She responds just as bitterly, "Try something, I dare you. Prove me right."

"You stupid bitch!" Jack exclaims, and before Sharon knows what's happening she's on the floor, a burning sensation on her cheek, "Why can't you just fucking listen!" He hisses as he comes to stand over Sharon, and she's grateful when she sees the bedroom door open and her father quickly wrap his arms around Jack.

"I suggest you stop." Conrad whispers in Jack's ear as he squeezes the younger man forcefully, "Shay, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." Sharon winces as she stands up, "I'm packing your things, you're leaving tonight."

"Was this your plan all along?" Jack questions as he tries to fight his way out of Conrad's grasp, "Make me hit you so Daddy could protect you?"

"Hardly." She glares at him through narrowed eyes, "You know, somehow I'm not surprised that you don't have enough clothes here to even fill a suitcase."

"Bite me." Jack hisses, followed by Conrad saying something Sharon can't quite hear from the other side of the room. "Let go of me." He says seriously, "Let go, you're hurting me."

"Not so fun to be held down, now is it?" Sharon responds with a pointed brow as she continues to pack his things, "Oh wait, this is just something kinky, isn't it?"

"Sharon," Jack breathes out weakly, "please, make him stop."

"Dad, let him go." She instructs as she zips the suitcase, relieved that her father listens to her. "Now, Jack," Sharon lets out a deep breath as she places the suitcase on the ground and pulls out the handle, leaning on it strongly as she speaks, "you are going to take this suitcase, get in your car, and _never_ come back. You are not to contact me or the children for _any_ reason, even if you're sick and dying. Actually, on second thought," she smiles bitterly, "call me if you're dying. We'll throw a party."

"You bitch…" He starts, his voice trailing off when Conrad instinctively steps between Jack and Sharon.

"Give me your key." She holds out her hand, waiting for him to pass her the object in question, "Key. Now."

"I suggest you give her what she asks for." Conrad adds as he watches Jack carefully, "Come on now, we don't have all night."

"Here." Jack reaches into his pocket and hands Sharon the key, "Are you happy now?"

"I'll be happier when you're out of my life." She replies as she passes him the suitcase, "Now go, get out."

"You need to think about this Sharon, please." Jack begs, suddenly acting like he cares about her, "Please, don't do this to me."

"Get out." Sharon points to the door, "You're not wanted here. Just go before I call the police."

Jack lets out a sigh and offers Sharon a sad smile before heading out the door and into the driveway.

"Shay, are you okay?" Betty questions urgently as soon as the front door is closed and locked.

"I'm fine." Sharon tries weakly as she goes to the freezer and finds an ice pack to put on her cheek, "I feel much better, actually." She offers an uncomfortable shrug.

"What happened in there?" Conrad questions worriedly, "I opened the door and you… you were on the ground." He breathes out sadly.

"Honestly I… I'm not sure." Sharon says as she sits down on the couch and closes her eyes, "I told him I knew about Vegas and he lost it."

"Let me see." Betty sits down beside Sharon and gently takes the ice pack off of her daughter's face, "Oh, sweet pea, that's going to leave a mark." Betty lets out a deep breath as she cradles her daughter's chin, "We'll have to do something about that tomorrow."

"Yeah." Sharon nods unsurely as she pulls her lips into her mouth, "I think I want to go to bed now." She says quietly, "It's been a long day, and I appreciate what you two have done for me."

"Good night, Shay." Conrad hugs her and presses a kiss to her forehead, "Sleep tight, Pumpkin."

"I'll try." she forces an awkward smile, "I'll see you in the morning. Night, Mom." Sharon hugs Betty before walking down the hallway and closing her bedroom door.

"Do you think she's okay?" Conrad questions as he comes to sit beside his wife, "I was standing in the hallway waiting for him to do something, and I heard everything. I can't believe she's been through so much." He lets out a sigh and wraps his arm around Betty, not surprised when she rests her head on his shoulder.

"We raised three strong girls." She says seriously, "And while what she's been through is terrible, she's brave enough to get through it."

"I hope you're right." Conrad breathes out quietly, "You have to be right."

~oOo~

It had been hours since the Flynns had returned from Sharon's, but Andy is still thinking about what she had told him. It makes his skin crawl, thinking about her being hurt like that, and as much as he wants to tell Miranda, he knows he can't. He had made a promise, and he intended to see it through.

Andy slowly opens his eyes and takes in the darkness of his bedroom and the head of unruly blonde hair beside him. _How could he keep this from her?_ It felt wrong, and it was hard for Andrew Flynn to admit when he was wrong.

He knows Sharon hates the word, but Miranda considered them friends, and weren't friends supposed to help each other through times like these?

He wishes he could do more to help her. As he lay in bed with his beautiful wife, he wishes he was at Sharon's house, protecting her from her piece of shit husband. He tries not to let the thought of Sharon, pinned down and crying, to disrupt his thoughts, but to no avail. With a heavy sigh he pushes himself out of bed, walks out to the living room, and dials the phone, waiting anxiously for Sharon to answer.

"Hello?" Her voice is groggy from sleep, "Who is this?"

"Hi." Andy stutters awkwardly, "It's Flynn. I just wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine." She yawns, "You actually woke me up."

"Sorry." He shrugs, "I just wanted to make sure he wasn't…" His voice trails off unsurely, and a brief silence falls over the line.

"He's gone. You don't need to worry about me." She responds, her voice more crisp and cognizant than it had been.

"He's gone? Like for good?" Andy questions, his voice perking up with interest at the very prospect.

"God, I hope so." Sharon lets out a deep breath as she responds, "He didn't go down without a fight though, that's for sure." She adds with an uncomfortable chuckle.

"Raydor, if he hurt you I'll kick his ass." He returns, his voice more tense than it had been.

"He did, and my father took care of it." She smirks to herself, "But I appreciate the offer. Might come in handy in the future."

"Ha." Flynn laughs sarcastically, "I'm sure your parents would appreciate knowing you recruited me to beat him up."

"They probably would." She nods, "They like you."

"That's good, right?" Andy questions unsurely.

"Yes." She nods, "Obviously they're way better judges of character than I'll ever be, considering they've been warning me about Jack since I was a teenager."

"Hey, you couldn't've known he would treat you that way." He tries softly, "You just couldn't."

"There were _so_ many warning signs." She breathes out defeatedly, "But I was too concerned about having that 'perfect family' to notice. We were supposed to have it all. The high school sweethearts that got married and went off to pursue their careers. The lawyer and the police lieutenant with two kids and a nice house in Los Angeles. I had all these plans." She lets out a deep breath, "I was _so_ worried about having that picture perfect life that I never realised that it wasn't going to work out. I'm so stupid."

Andy lets out a deep breath, surprised that she is being so honest with him, "You can still have a nice family without him. In fact, it might be even better." He offers a small chuckle.

"Thank you." Sharon says quietly, "I needed to hear that."

"Anything for a friend." He responds quietly, "I'll see you on Monday?"

"Not unless you do something stupid and end up in my office." Sharon responds sarcastically.

"What about lunch again? We could start making it a daily thing?" Andy questions cautiously.

"Hm," Sharon thinks for a moment, "yes. I'd like that. But you aren't buying every day."

"Okay, that's fair." He shrugs in response, "So I'll see you Monday then?"

"Monday it is."


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: I have some comments that need to be addressed before we get to the chapter, sorry._

 _Guest: "I'm glad Sharon is finally getting an ounce of autonomy, but this is like a Lifetime movie. Sharon, the police officer, doesn't know what to do, so Daddy sweeps in? With Andy waiting in the wings to do her ass-kicking for her? And her mother! Sharon is standing there showing her injuries from being raped, and she's just "now, now, let's not be hasty about divorce"?" If you don't like my story, don't read it. In the chapter, it's stated that Sharon's parents wanted to come down, even though she told them not to. Wouldn't you do the same if your child was in that situation? Andy waiting to kick some ass… tell me that isn't 100% in character for Andy Flynn. He'd fight anyone, any day, for any reason. Finally, we know that religion is very important to Sharon, so it's logical to assume it's important to her parents as well. I wrote that dialogue because for someone in Sharon's position (mother with two young children, high-demand job, male dominated career, and abusive husband) divorce has the potential to cause far more problems than separating or being estranged._

 _Guest: "Um, actually, Emily's older than Ricky. **eye roll**" I know this. Duff couldn't keep the birth order of the children straight so why should I have to? It makes more sense for Emily to be younger anyway, seeing as she and Ricky both refer to Rusty as "Little Brother". If she had a little brother growing up, why is it Rusty's nickname and not Ricky's? It just made more sense to make her older, in my opinion._

 _Guest: "This is utterly ridiculous. With Sharon and Jack still being amicable on Major Crimes, there's no way he was abusive. Drunk, gambling, and maybe adulterous, but not abusive. Why does almost every fanfic that mentions Jack insist upon making Sharon look stupid for ever being with him? He obviously did her wrong, but he had to have had some good qualities at some time for her to ever be with him." This is ridiculous? Then don't read it. Frankly, if you think this is bad it only gets worse. The point of fanfics is for each of us to express our opinions about the show, and that's exactly what I'm doing. Personally, being from an abusive household, it's completely possible that Jack was abusive despite his relationship with Sharon we see on the show (which I wouldn't classify as amicable). I believe it's very possible there could have been an abuse element to their relationship, but Sharon remains civil because Jack is the father of her children and because she has some good memories of Jack that she holds onto, which is touched on much later in the story. Similarly, that episode of The Closer where one of the officers is being abused and Sharon steps in, I get an abuse vibe from that. I feel like her need to protect and defend Allie at all costs, as well as some of the dialogue exchanged points to Sharon being abused at some point in her life._

 _I'm sorry this author's note has been so long, but these comments upset me and I felt I needed to respond to them. I've spent over a year drafting, writing, and editing this story, and having it so blatantly disrespected feels like a punch in the stomach. Maybe this story isn't for everyone, maybe there are things you don't agree with—that's_ _ **fine**_ _. I'm just asking that if you dislike my story, don't leave me a hate comment. It takes far less effort to close the tab than it does to log into ffn and write a nasty comment. To those of you who've been supporting my story from the get go, thank you so much. It means the world to me._

 _~Sarah_

~oOo~

Sharon's eyes instinctively shoot open when she feels a hand on her cheek.

"Good morning, Cinnamon Stick." Betty says calmingly as she continues to massage Sharon's cheek.

"I asked you to stop calling me that." She yawns as she runs a hand through the red hair that her mother is referring to, "I'm not a child anymore."

"Well, last time I checked you're still _my_ child." Betty grins, "Come on, your father made breakfast."

"Wait," Sharon sits up and carefully touches her cheek, "how bad is it?" She asks as she glances away from her mother in embarrassment.

"It's nothing a little concealer won't fix." Betty pouts slightly as she pushes her walker towards the door, "Do you want help covering it up?"

"No. I've got it." Sharon shakes her head as she gets out of bed, "But I could use your help with something else." When Betty looks to Sharon in question she continues, "I want photographs of this. For court."

"You're right." Betty nods in agreement, "Let me help you with that." She takes the camera from Sharon, pressing the shutter as she photographs each set of bruises that mark her daughter. The bright red one on her cheek, the dark, snaking fingers on her wrist, and finally the thumb prints on her hips. Each time Betty takes a photo Sharon looks away in embarrassment, despite her mother's calming words. "You're my brave girl, my strong, courageous, beautiful girl." She says as she takes the photos, "No matter what he told you."

"Thank you." Sharon breathes out quietly so as to keep her voice from breaking, "Thank you, Mom."

"Of course, sweetie." Betty responds as she reaches out and hugs her daughter, "Would you still like breakfast?"

"I would." Sharon nods in response as she releases her mother from the embrace, "Are the kids up yet? I'm going to have to explain to them what's going to happen in the coming months." She breathes out with disappointment as she applies concealer to her cheek.

"Dad got them up." Betty responds as she comes to sit on the bed so that she can rest her legs, "You know this isn't your fault, don't you?"

Sharon lets out a deep breath, her shoulders momentarily slumping forward before she goes back to her task, "It's going to be so hard for them to believe this. It's happened so often before; he'd leave and I'd be sure he was never coming back. I'd sit them down and tell them that even though their father loved them, that he couldn't be with us. Because he was sick, or visiting family, or whatever else. But sooner or later he'd come back and I could see the joy on their faces, and it just breaks my heart to know they'll be waiting for him to walk through that door just like he did every other time."

"Well," Betty lets out a deep breath, "you have to go about this conversation a different way then."

"You're right." Sharon closes her makeup compact before turning back to her mother, "The things that happened completely change the situation, and they need to be aware of that."

"Shay," she looks to her daughter through narrowed eyes, "you better not tell those kids what happened between you and Jackson."

"No." Sharon shakes her head as she sits next to her mother on the edge of the bed, "No, I didn't mean that. I mean I'm going to explain to them that they won't see him anymore, and that we'll be living in different houses."

"There's my smart girl." Betty smiles fondly as she squeezes Sharon's hand, "Come on, let's go to breakfast."

~oOo~

"Nicole was almost at the end and she went down a chute!" Emily laughs as they eat breakfast, "Ricky won, but Nicole should have."

"Nu-uh." Ricky argues, "Nicole lost and I won."

"But she would've won."

"Okay kids, that's enough." Conrad interjects in hopes of preventing an all-out argument.

"It sounds like you all had fun." Sharon smiles, glad they had enjoyed themselves the previous evening, "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"Yeah!" Emily agrees as she picks up her glass with two small hands and takes a sip of milk, "Then you can be with your friends too!"

"Emily Anne," Sharon sighs, "what have I told you about this?"

"But Mom," Emily grumbles, "Nicky's mom said you're friends."

"Right." Sharon nods awkwardly, no doubt raising the suspicion of her parents, "I'm friends with Nicky's parents."

"Mom?" Ricky says quietly and Sharon gratefully diverts her attention to her eldest child.

"What is it, Honey?"

"Is Dad still sick?" He asks innocently.

Conrad and Betty each offer Sharon a small, encouraging smile as she lets out a deep breath and runs a hand through her hair, "He's not, baby. But we need to have a conversation about him. Can you two be big kids for me?"

Ricky and Emily both nod, the latter appearing on the verge of tears as she often did with matters regarding her father. Sharon takes a deep breath and glances down at her hands before focusing back on her children, "Your Dad and I are going to start living in different houses," she explains, searching their features for a reaction, "and I know we've had conversations like this before, but he won't be coming here anymore. I know that as your parents we're," Sharon lets out a deep breath and idly toys with her fingers, "we're supposed to love each other and love the two of you, but we couldn't do both. So we decided that you deserve to grow up happy with one of us rather than sad with the two of us. Do you understand what I'm saying?" She asks softly.

"But…" Emily says quietly, her voice breaking, "he's our dad."

"I know, sweet pea." Sharon pouts and reaches across the table to squeeze her daughter's small hand, "And I know this is going to be hard for the two of you, but this is what's best for us, as a family." She emphasises the last word.

"Can we see him again?" Ricky asks, surprisingly looking almost as sad as his sister.

"We'll see." Sharon nods, "Not for a while yet though, I'm sorry." She offers her son a small frown.

"Why not?"

"Because you're mother said so, that's why." Conrad interjects as he picks up everyone's dishes, "Ricky, Emily, go get dressed." He instructs as he goes to the kitchen and begins rinsing off the dishes.

"Yes, Grumpy!" Both children exclaim before running to their bedrooms.

Sharon lets out a deep breath and presses the heels of her hands against her eyes, leaning her elbows on the table as she does so.

"That could've gone worse." Betty says as she calmingly rubs Sharon's back, "I'm proud of you, Shay."

Sharon lets out another deep breath, but this time because of the litany of nicknames her parents constantly referred to her by. It was sweet and endearing, but she also found it nerve-wracking, especially during moments like these.

"They're going to want to see him." Sharon mumbles through her hands, "And they have a right to, but I don't trust him."

"Then don't let them. You're the responsible one." Conrad states plainly as he returns to his seat and extends his arms on the table, "You're the one that takes care of those kids, not him. I think your words have a little more pull than his."

"Thank you." Sharon uncovers her face and offers her father a watery smile when she hears two sets of small feet running down the hallway. Both children stop when they see her, face pale, eyes red, and cheeks marked with tears.

"Momma, it's okay." Emily runs over and hugs her, "I'm sure Daddy still loves you."

"Yeah." Sharon says quietly as she attempts to push back her tears, "I'm sure you're right, baby."

Sharon feels her father glance in her direction before he clears his throat and says, "Alright, who wants to go to the park?"

Both Emily and Ricky look to him excitedly before grabbing their coats and heading for the door.

~oOo~

"Really?" Miranda questions with a yawn, rolling over in the bed so that she is facing Andy, "You didn't find anything out?"

He runs a hand through his hair and lets out a deep breath. _It felt wrong not telling Mandy, but he had made a promise._ "No. I didn't."

"So, now what?" She asks, blinking a few times as her eyes adjust to the pale light filtering through the window, "How can we help her if we have no proof that something's wrong?"

Andy looks to his wife, his gaze falling to her lips before he leans in and kisses her, distracting her from a conversation he couldn't be having.

"Andy, I'm serious." She says quietly, her fingertips grazing his cheek once he breaks the kiss, "I can't just sit here knowing she could be in danger, and neither should you. You're a cop, aren't you even bothered by this?"

"Yes." He pecks her lips again, hoping she'd drop the topic, "I am." He kisses her between words as he continues to speak, "And I will take care of it when I go to work tomorrow. But for now," he grins as he kisses her more strongly, "I can think of better ways for us to use our time."

~oOo~

"You're allowed to be emotional during a time like this." Betty says quietly, both she and Sharon sitting on a park bench and watching Conrad and the children crawl around the jungle-gym, "There's no shame in it."

"Now is not the time or the place." Sharon responds, her voice monotone and her eyes fixed forward, the wind gently tossing her auburn hair.

"Have you gone to confession lately?" Betty questions in return, "That will help."

"No, I…" Sharon stutters, momentarily taken aback by her mother's question, "I haven't gone to mass in quite some time either." She admits as she hangs her head.

"He could help you through this," Betty tries softly as she squeezes Sharon's hand, "granted you seek His wisdom."

"Mom, more than anything I need something tangible right now. I need someone I can _really_ talk to and get answers from. I need answers right now, not introspection." She says the last sentence quietly, not surprised to find a mortified look on her mother's face.

"Sharon Renee," Betty looks to her daughter in disbelief, "why would you say something like that? You were raised better than that, taught to believe in more than this."

"But this is too serious, Mom," she says, frustration evident on her face, "I need someone who can help me deal with this now;" Sharon lets out a deep breath before continuing, "I can't sit around waiting for the answers to be shown to me. I need to learn how to cope with this ."

"Shay," her mother lets out a deep sigh and squeezes Sharon's hand again, "I am in no way trying to lessen what you went through; Of course what Jack did to you was terribly wrong, otherwise your father and I wouldn't have come down here. We just want to help you, Shay, and He can too."

Sharon lets out a deep breath and processes her mother's words. She was raised a Catholic, raised to believe in the sanctity of marriage. But what was she supposed to do when leaving Jack would scandalise her work at the LAPD?

"I'll think about it." She says before pushing herself off of the bench and going over to her father and children.

"Momma, watch this!" Emily exclaims as she grabs onto the monkey bars, hooking her ankles through the following one and hanging upside down, "Look!"

Sharon momentarily panics as she quickly wraps her arms around her daughter in fear of her falling, "Are you trying to hurt yourself?!" She asks worriedly once Emily is back on the ground, "Emily Anne!"

"I'm sorry, Momma." The young girl says quietly as she looks down at her faded pink sneakers, "I wasn't trying to scare you."

"Oh, Pumpkin, it's okay." Sharon grunts as she picks Emily up and sits her on her hip, "I just don't want you to get a booboo, okay, Baby?"

"Mhm." Emily nods as she plays with a strand of Sharon's hair, "You need to see what Grumpy and Ricky built."

"Where are they?" Sharon questions frantically, now realising that they had both walked away during the commotion.

Emily points to the edge of the forest and Sharon lets out a relieved breath, grateful to see her father waving her over.

"What are you doing?" She asks curiously when she comes to the edge of the forest, "Where's Ricky?"

"Hi, Mom!" She hears her son's voice but can't seem to find him, "Mom, I'm over here!"

"Dad," Sharon glares at Conrad, "what is going on?"

"We built a fort." Conrad grins proudly, "He won't ever want to leave now."

Sharon lets out a puff of air and rolls her eyes before taking a deep breath and letting out a high-pitched whistle. "Richard, I suggest you come out now." She says, watching as a comical grin works its way across her father's face, "Don't make me whistle again."

"Okay." Ricky says defeatedly, and Sharon almost jumps when she sees a pile of leaves a few feet away start to move, her son's dark hair popping out of the brush, "You're no fun, Mom."

"I know." Sharon smirks, watching as he works his way out of the leaves, "That's my job."

"Come look at our fort!" Ricky exclaims, a pout still on his face at being drawn out of his hiding spot, "Mom!"

"Okay, okay." Sharon laughs, trying her best to navigate between the wet leaves, rocks, and sticks while still balancing Emily on her hip.

"I think you've got an architect on your hands." Conrad grins happily, standing next to his grandson at their fort.

"Grumpy and I built it out of sticks and then we covered it in leaves so nobody could see it!" Ricky explains excitedly, "I'm totally gonna win at hide and seek now!"

"You will." Sharon grins down at her son and ruffles his hair much to his dismay, "How about we stop on the way home and get ice cream?" She asks, watching with enjoyment as both Emily and Ricky's faces light up.

"Please, Momma!" Emily responds first, her fingers still tangled in Sharon's hair.

"Dad," Sharon turns to Conrad, "what time are you and Mom planning on leaving?"

"I think we can stay for ice cream." He smiles, "What do you think, Ricky?"

"Please stay, Grumpy!" He begs, latching onto Conrad's leg as they all walk back towards Betty.

"Well I guess if the boss says we stay, we stay." Conrad chuckles as he and Sharon load the kids in the car and start towards the ice cream parlour.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: I'm sorry this upload has been so delayed. I was super busy with finals, but now that the semester has wrapped up I should be back on a regular posting schedule._

 _I've received some negative comments on this story, and from this chapter on I will no longer be entertaining arguing them in the author's notes. It's my story to tell, and I'm going to continue doing that. This is just a reminder that neither I nor my story are affiliated with James Duff or the show in any way. This is just a headcanon of how events involving Sharon and Andy could've transpired._

 _T/W: Little bit of abuse vibes_

~oOo~

Andy smiles to himself as he begins to drift off to sleep, memories of the day washing over him. It was one of the best days he had had in awhile, starting with his morning with Miranda. The two of them finally managed to get out of bed around 11:30 that morning, and it wasn't a problem, seeing as the kids had slept late as well as a result of being out past their bedtime the previous night. Andy had flipped on the kid's favourite cartoons and then went to wake them while Miranda started on breakfast. When Andy had gone to Michael's room, he couldn't help the sweet smile that pulled at his lips when he laid eyes on his son, sound asleep, clinging to the stuffed bear that was near twice his size. Flynn wasn't a fan of the word, but just this once he made an exception, admitting to his wife that he found the display rather cute.

After breakfast, Andy convinced Miranda to take the kids to the beach, and they excitedly changed into their swimsuits and ran to the car. It was a nice, relaxing day, filled with sand, sun, and teaching the children to swim. Andy held tightly to Nicole, picking her up to keep her from getting knocked over by each coming wave. Miranda did the same for Michael, all four of them laughing hysterically. It was an enjoyable day after months of on-and-off struggles, and Flynn was grateful that he was once again feeling like he belonged in his family. Andy couldn't help but chuckle to himself as the kids buried him in the sand, despite the fact that he could feel the sand they were piling on him migrate into unsavoury places.

"Come on kids, it's time to go." Miranda had smirked at her husband who was still buried in the sand, "We'll come see Daddy tomorrow."

"Bye, Daddy." Nicole said sweetly and kissed his cheek, both children playing along with their mother's game, "I'll miss you."

Andy looked at his wife in comical defeat, not surprised to find her covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter, "I'll miss you, too." He pouted, looking from his daughter to his son, "It's a shame you have to leave me here." He added, hanging his head in faux sadness.

"No, it isn't." Nicole replied in her ever-so-small voice, "You're going to turn into a mermaid!"

"But," Andy's eyes widened as he frantically dug himself out of the sand, "then I'd have to live in the ocean; I wouldn't see you anymore."

"But I'd have a merman for a dad." Nicole responded in defeat when Andy stood up and brushed the sand off of himself, "You're no fun."

"That's my job." He smirked as he hugged his daughter.

~oOo~

"Jack, you need to go." Sharon states resolutely, her face barely visible through the slim crack of the door.

"This is my home." He responds with quiet anger, "Those are my kids, and you are my wife."

"Not for much longer if I can help it." Sharon mumbles under her breath before raising her voice back to its normal volume, "You need to go."

"And why is that?" He questions as he attempts to push the door open, Sharon responding by leaning her hip against it, "Are you afraid Daddy isn't here to protect you anymore?" He asks mockingly, "You're weak. Always have been. And that's why you'll be mine until the day you die. I _own_ you, do you understand?"

"No, Jack, you don't." Sharon winces as she tries her hardest to keep him from pushing the door open, "You need to leave or I'm calling the police."

"You honestly think I care if you call the police?" He asks in his typical pompous way, "Sweetheart, I am one of the top lawyers in Los Angeles, I'm untouchable."

"You've done enough here." She says, her voice steely as she continues to push against the door, "Leave."

"Sharon." Jackson grumbles as he pushes harder against the door.

"Go." She says weakly as she tries to keep the door from opening the rest of the way, "Now."

"Nope." Jack grins mischievously when Sharon is no longer able to hold the door and he steps inside the house, "Not until I get what I came for."

Sharon crosses her arms and glares at him, the door ajar as he stands in the doorway, "Leave."

"Sharon, sweetheart," Jack crosses the threshold and stops to stand in front of her, reaching out and resting his hands on both of her elbows, "don't you know how this works?"

She continues to glare at him over the frames of her glasses, pushing down her fear in an attempt to maintain control of the situation, "I don't think _you_ know how this works." She responds evenly as she steps out of his grip, "You will leave or I will call the police." She threatens again as she picks up the phone and begins to dial the number, "I suggest you go."

"You just don't learn, do you?" Jack questions as he takes a step towards her and pries the phone from her hand, "You have no power."

"Jack," she says quietly, her voice wavering unwontedly as she reaches out and places her hand on top of the phone, "don't do this."

"Give me one good reason not to." He responds, his breath acidic on her cheek as he takes a step closer, Sharon taking one step back in return.

"Because you know this is wrong." She answers in her strongest voice, her hands gently shaking as he takes another step forward and she one back, the wall cool against her skin beneath her t-shirt, "You _know_ this is wrong."

"What is so wrong about loving my wife?" Jack asks breathily as his hand finds its way to her hip.

Sharon inhales quickly, her breaths shallow and shuddering as she reaches down and removes his hand from her body, "Because this is _not_ love Jack. This is you… you using me, _hurting_ me."

"It hurts sometimes, you know that." Jack returns as he kisses her neck, his hands finding their way back to the hem of her pants despite her protest, "Just let it happen."

"No." Sharon states with resolute strength, reaching out and pushing him away from her as hard as she can, "Now get the hell out." She enunciates each word, her eyes shimmering with rage, "Before you wake up the children."

"We can be quiet." He suggests as he once again closes the gap she had created between them.

"You need to leave." Sharon responds, her voice growing louder with each repetition of the phrase, "Please, Jack, if you love me, _leave_."

"I can't." He takes a step forward and closes the gap between them, his hands coming up to cup her chin as he forcefully presses his lips against hers.

Sharon fights him, smacking him and pushing on his chest as she tries to pull her face away from his. "Jack!" She manages to yell, no longer caring if she wakes the children. He freezes for a moment, just long enough for her to slap him across the face.

"Oh, you bitch." He breathes out lowly, catching Sharon's arm before she can bring it back to her body, "How can you be stupid enough to make the same mistakes over and over?"

"Let go of me, Jack." Sharon pleads as she tries to pull herself away from him, grateful that this time he had grabbed her good wrist rather than her bad one, "Before you make things worse."

"Momma, is that you?" Emily's small voice asks quietly from the other end of the hallway, Sharon exhaling in relief when Jack lets go of her.

"Yes, Sweetie." Sharon responds in her soft, motherly voice, "Did you have a bad dream?"

"No." Sharon can hear her daughter take a few steps down the hallway, "I heard you and Daddy fighting again."

"I'm sorry, baby," Sharon says before redirecting her attention back to Jack, "your father was just leaving."

Jack glares at her but does as he is told, making sure to slam the door on his way out.

"Why were you fighting?" Emily asks, peeking her head around the corner to look at her mother.

Sharon takes off her glasses and wipes her eyes, kneeling down to Emily's height before answering, "Because your father doesn't know when to leave well enough alone. How about we get you back to bed, hm?" Sharon hums as she picks up her daughter, "You'll be tired when it's time for school tomorrow."

~oOo~

"Who is this?" Miranda grumbles when she answers the phone, "It's three in the morning." Silence falls over the room for a moment before she says, "Hold on, I'll wake him up." She sets the phone down on the nightstand before gently shaking Andy awake.

"Hm?" He mumbles in question, his eyes still closed and the covers wrapped tightly around him.

"Sharon's on the phone. She doesn't sound too good; said it's urgent."

Andy's eyes shoot open, any remnants of sleep instantly abandoned. He gets out of bed and picks up the phone before heading out to the living room.

"Are you okay?" He questions frantically.

" _I don't…"_ Sharon sniffles as she attempts to catch her breath, " _He came back and I… I fought him, Flynn. I did it."_ She laughs cynically, " _I stood up for myself and now he… he's gone."_

"Are you hurt?" Flynn asks worriedly, his voice just above a whisper as he paces the room habitually, "That son of a bitch—"

" _Flynn,"_ she interrupts him, her voice steadier now, " _I did it. After years and years of…_ this _, I finally did it."_ She laughs to herself, " _I did it."_ The words come out almost as if she were in shock, like she wants to convince herself they are true.

"Sharon," Andy's voice cuts through her laughter, his voice unwavering as he repeats his question, "did he hurt you?"

" _No, I,"_ she lets out a deep breath, " _not really. He's done worse. I'll be fine."_

"Do you want me to come over? If you need me to I can…" His voice trails off unsurely, not wanting to overstep their boundaries.

" _What about Miranda?"_ Sharon questions, " _That isn't fair to her."_

"She falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. I guarantee you she's out like a light. Besides, friends do things like this for each other."

" _I can't sleep, I'm still shaking, I... Yes."_ Her voice is deadpan in a matter of seconds, " _Yes, I would appreciate your company."_

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes." Andy nods as he walks back down the hallway and towards his bedroom, "Do you need me to bring anything?"

" _Just yourself."_ Sharon chuckles awkwardly, " _I'll see you when you get here."_

~oOo~

When Sharon sees a set of headlights start up the driveway, she lets out a deep breath and sips her wine before leaning back, causing the porch swing to creak eerily in the darkness.

"Hi." Flynn says as he closes his car door and comes to stand in front of her on the porch, "What happened?"

She glances up at him and bites her lip before taking another sip of wine and patting the cushion beside her, "Sit." He cautiously does as he is told, trying to observe her facial features in the darkness, "After you left yesterday," she lets out a deep breath, "my parents and I were talking about what he did and I… I stood up for myself. I gave him a suitcase and told him to pack his things, that he'd be leaving first thing in the morning but…" She lets out a sigh and takes a sip of her wine before continuing, "we argued and it got… physical." She breathes out in embarrassment, not surprised to find Andy eyeing her sympathetically, "My dad grabbed him, I don't know how bad it could've gotten if he hadn't been there. After that, I packed his suitcase and sent him on his way. But he came back tonight and," she sets her wine glass down on the ground and covers her face with her hands, "and he forced his way into the house. He kept kissing me and trying to do _things_ , but I slapped him, pushed him away. He grabbed me again and then Emily," she mumbles through her hands, "she woke up because she heard us fighting. I think that's the only reason I got him to leave."

Flynn sits silently for a moment, his hands resting loosely in his lap. He isn't sure what to say; he doesn't know her very well, but he can tell she won't appreciate any consolation that sounds like pity. He lets out a deep breath and rubs his chin before saying, "You might want to change the locks."

"Mhm." Sharon hums as she removes her hands from her face and rubs her eyes, "I was already planning on it. It was my fault he got into the house tonight though, I…" she lets out a frustrated groan, "I didn't check to see who was outside. I just opened the door and there he was."

"You should've called me." Flynn tries softly, his eyes focused on the frazzled woman beside him, "I would've gotten him out of your hair."

"I tried." She responds, Flynn blinking a few times in surprise, "My dad made me promise to call you if Jack showed up."

"He did?" Flynn asks with a small chuckle.

"He did." Sharon nods in response, "I don't have many friends, so they took a liking to you and Miranda." She shrugs and sips her wine.

"Can I ask you something?" Flynn questions seriously as he turns to look at the woman beside him.

"Yes." Sharon nods unsurely.

"How long had he been treating you like that?" The words are spoken carefully, and he watches her intently as she formulates a response.

"Things haven't been right for quite some time. When we were young, he stopped coming home, and it just went downhill from there." She pouts, "He didn't even know I was pregnant until he showed up one day and saw Ricky in his crib." Sharon shakes her head sadly before she continues, "He didn't believe me, thought I was just babysitting or something. That should've been a red flag, but I ignored it. He was gone so long and so often I never had the chance to tell him I was pregnant. I called him over and over, left countless messages, but he never returned my calls. I'm so stupid." She mumbles again as her hands return to cover her face, "Why am I so stupid?"

"Hey," Andy reaches out hesitantly and rubs her back as she begins to gently cry, "you aren't the stupid one, he is."

"What?" Sharon turns to look at him, her face red and eyes watery.

"You did everything you could to get him to stay, to get him to be a father and a husband. You raised those kids because he was careless enough to leave. He was the stupid one because he had everything and he threw it away."

Sharon lets out an uncomfortable laugh, "I guess you're right."

"I know I am." Andy cooes quietly as he continues to rub her back, "Are you feeling better now?"

"A bit." Sharon nods, "I still can't believe that this is my life though." She says with disbelief, "If someone told me six months ago that I'd be divorcing my husband for abusing me and that I'd be friends with Andy Flynn, I wouldn't've believed them. I wake up in the morning and I don't even recognise my life anymore."

"Change is good." Flynn shrugs as he removes his hand from her back, "You'll see."

"Thank you." Raydor whispers, "Thank you for coming over here in the middle of the night, I… I really appreciate it."

"It's what friends do." He offers her a small smile, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so." Sharon sniffles as she stands from the swing, watching as he does the same, "I'll see you tomorrow."

'You'll see me in a few hours." He laughs, "It's almost four in the morning."

"Oh."

"Goodnight, Raydor." He offers a small wave as he walks down the steps and towards his car, "Stay safe."

"You too." She waves in return before turning and heading into the house.


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: I'm fully aware Jack couldn't have been as malicious and evil canonically, but it helps to develop Shandy's relationship._

 _~oOo~_

When her alarms shrieks to life some hours later, Sharon lets out a noise of frustration before laying back in the bed. She stares at the ceiling for a moment as she tries to gather her bearings, preparing herself for what will no doubt be a long day.

A few minutes later she finally gathers the strength to push herself out of bed, and she sits on the edge for a moment, her shoulders slumped and her head hung. She didn't quite feel like doing anything today, and she sighs as she walks to Ricky's room, knowing that ignoring her problems wasn't an option.

"Richard." Sharon says in a singsong voice, "sweet boy, it's time for school."

"Mom." She hears him grumble from under the covers, "Tired."

"I know, Honey, I am too." She says as she scoops him up from beneath the blankets despite his attempts to wriggle out of her grasp, "Go get your cereal out, I'm going to go wake up your sister." Sharon instructs, setting him down in the hallway and closing his bedroom door, hoping he won't run back to his bed.

Sharon smiles to herself, watching the young boy walk groggily down the hallway and towards the kitchen. She lets out a deep breath before entering Emily's room and opening the blinds.

"It's time for school, Pumpkin." Sharon says as she sits on the edge of the bed and runs a hand through her daughter's hair.

Emily's eyes slowly flicker open and she yawns before looking up at her mother, "Is Daddy still here?"

"No, he's not." Sharon shakes her head, a small pout gracing her features as she continues to toy with her daughter's hair, "Can you do something for me?" Sharon asks and Emily's eyes light up with interest.

"What?" Emily sits up quickly and looks around curiously, "Momma?"

"Can you keep a big girl secret for me?" She asks quietly and Emily nods, "Don't tell your brother Daddy was here last night, okay?"

The young girl nods slowly before speaking, "Why can't I tell Ricky?"

"Because," Sharon lets out a deep breath and thinks for a moment before reaching out and squeezing Emily's shoulder, "because I don't want Ricky to be sad, okay?"

"Okay." Emily nods and reaches out to wrap her small arms around Sharon's neck in a hug, "What cereal did you get?" She asks as Sharon picks her up, the young girl still hanging onto her mother's neck.

"Lucky Charms." Sharon grins as she carries Emily to the living room, already anticipating the child's reaction.

"Yay!" She squeals with delight in Sharon's ear, Sharon just shaking her head and smiling.

~oOo~

"No," Sharon lets out yet another deep breath as she taps the end of her pen on the desk, "I need a divorce attorney, civil law. Don't put me on hold again, damn it." She grumbles when music once again filters through the phone. Sharon presses the button and her phone switches to speaker mode; she continues filling out her reports as the music plays. She would never admit it, but she actually found the tunes quite soothing.

" _Naomi Ross."_ A female voice answers and Sharon quickly picks up the phone.

"Hello." She answers professionally, "Please tell me you're a divorce lawyer."

" _I am."_ The woman responds, " _Should I schedule you an appointment?"_

"I'd appreciate it." She nods, "The sooner the better."

" _Can I have a name please?"_ Naomi asks and Sharon hesitates for a moment before responding.

"Sharon Raydor."

A brief silence falls over the line before Naomi responds, " _Raydor, like Jackson Raydor?"_ There's a hint of surprise in her voice and Sharon lets out a deep breath and rubs her temples.

"Unfortunately." She says as she glances up at the ceiling, "Do you know him?"

" _I know of him."_ She responds, " _I've heard nothing but good things about him, Ma'am."_

"Ha." Sharon laughs sarcastically, "That's what everyone says."

" _Okay,"_ Naomi lets out a deep breath and Sharon can hear her scrolling on her computer, " _I can squeeze you in tonight at six?"_

"That'd be great, thank you." Sharon nods as she jots the appointment down in her planner, "I'll see you then." Sharon hangs up the phone and lets out a deep breath, taking off her glasses and leaning back in her chair as she rubs her eyes.

When a knock on the door startles her she takes a quick breath, regaining her bearings before opening the door in an attempt to seem undisturbed.

"Flynn, what are you doing here?" Her voice is but an angry whisper as she pulls him into her office and quickly shuts the door, "Are you trying to start a rumour?" She continues to whisper as she glares at him over the frames of her glasses, "Flynn!"

"Well," he shrugs awkwardly as she crosses her arms over her chest, "you see," he glances down at his watch, "you missed lunch."

"Oh." She looks at him apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was on the phone with the lawyer and… never mind." She runs a hand through her hair before leaning back against her desk, "I won't be late tomorrow."

"It's okay." Flynn clasps his hands together and comes to stand in front of her, "You talked to the lawyer? How'd it go?"

"I have an appointment tonight," She looks up at him and offers a sad smile, "but I know he's going to make this difficult." She blinks back a tear clinging to the corner of her eye and she looks up at the ceiling for a moment before focusing back on Flynn, "Thank you for standing by me on this." Sharon cautiously reaches out and squeezes his shoulder, a small, grateful smile pulling at her lips, "If I was all alone through this…" Her voice trails off and she drops her hand from his shoulder, bowing her head for a moment before regaining her composure, "I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."

"I'm looking forward to it." He nods as he heads for the door, "I'll see you then; call me and let me know how the meeting goes?"

"I will." She promises as she returns to her chair, "Have a nice day."

"You too." He smiles before exiting her office and quickly boarding the elevator.

~oOo~

"So, how's the Wicked Witch?" Provenza asks mockingly when his partner returns to his desk, "She manage to turn you into one of her flying monkeys yet?"

"Can you please stop talking like that?" Andy grumbles as he takes his seat, "She's not as bad as everyone makes her out to be."

"You're sick." Provenza grumbles in return, a disgusted look on his face as he eyes the man beside him, "Come here, are you running a fever?" He asks, reaching up and palming Flynn's forehead.

"Stop it!" He swats away his friend's hand, an irritated look on his face, "She is my _friend_ , and you need to stop acting like this!"

"Right, your friend." Provenza responds before imitating kissing noises.

"Seriously, knock it off." Flynn grumbles as he pushes his friend away, "You're being an ass."

"At least I'm not after hers." He says sarcastically under his breath and Flynn bites his tongue, not wanting to cause a scene.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?"

~oOo~

"What is the living situation like with your husband?" Naomi asks, pushing back a strand of brown hair that had freed itself from the neat bun on the back of her head.

Sharon tries not to roll her eyes before calmly answering the lawyer's question, "We own a house together. But he only comes home maybe once or twice a week if we're lucky."

"What about assets?"

"Other than the house we kept everything separate. My car is under my name and his under his, bank accounts are the same."

"Good." Naomi nods as she writes in her notebook, "That'll make everything easier. Now, you're filing for divorce due to irreconcilable differences, can you tell me a bit about that?"

"Actually, I can do better than that." Sharon lets out a deep breath before reaching into her purse and removing the photographs her mother had taken. "He started abusing me, raping me." Sharon says quietly as she places the photos in front of Naomi, "I don't want him anywhere near me or our children."

Naomi looks over the photos carefully for a moment before looking back to Sharon, "Lieutenant Raydor, I'm really sorry to have to ask this, but I need you to tell me about the abuse. For the record."

Sharon lets out a deep breath and runs a hand through her hair, sitting silently for a moment before finally speaking, "My husband, he's been gone more often than not during the twenty-some years of our marriage. I helped pay his way through law school, with the promise that he'd do the same for me. He didn't." She adds pointedly, "Then I got pregnant. He tried to be around more often, but ultimately let both myself and our newborn son down. Jack was gone for so long that…" She lets out another deep breath as she attempts to compose herself, "he didn't even know I was pregnant. He came home one day to find our son in his crib. Things got a bit better after that, he was home more, not often, but more. Then I got pregnant again, and he was gone, again. He came home maybe a week ago, promised me he'd stay for good this time, but I woke up in the morning and he was gone. He came home a day later and got violent. He grabbed me," Sharon points to the photograph of her wrist, "and told me I'd do what he said or worse things would happen. He forced himself on me," she points to the photo of the bruises on her hips, "and I let him. That went on for two days before I had the strength to make him leave. We fought before that and he hit me." she points to the final image, "I told him not to come back; not to contact me or the kids, and then last night he showed up and forced his way into the house. He tried to… to force himself on me again, but I fought him off." Sharon breathes out, her eyes falling to her hands where they rested in her lap in an attempt to avoid Naomi's pitiful gaze.

"I'm sorry." Naomi looks to Sharon sympathetically, "I know this is difficult to talk about, but I need to ask you one more question." Sharon sniffles and nods before Naomi continues, "Did he ever hurt your children?"

"No. No." Sharon shakes her head as she brushes a tear from her eye, "No. He didn't."

"Good." Naomi nods, "So what I'm going to do next is file the paperwork. Your husband should be notified within the week, and we'll see where we go from there. Can I have an address for your husband?" She questions, surprised to find a confused look on Sharon's face.

"I don't know." Her gaze is far off as she speaks, "I kicked him out, I don't know where he went."

"Okay, I'll send it to his office then." She nods as she jots the note down on the form, "We'll be in touch soon." Naomi offers a warm smile as she stands and extends her hand to Sharon, "Here's my business card, if you think of anything that would impact the motion or if he shows up again, call me."

"I will. Thank you so much." Sharon offers the woman opposite her a grateful smile, hopeful that maybe, for the first time in decades, things with her and Jackson would start to move in the right direction.

Sharon lets out a deep breath as she walks to her car, her purse dangling loosely from her hand. She unlocks her car and throws her purse into the passenger seat before sitting down and letting out a deep breath, her eyes slowly fluttering closed as she leans her head back and takes a moment to relax.

Some time later she reluctantly opens her eyes before starting the car, pulling out of the space, and heading down the highway towards her house. All she really wants to do is sleep; the situation was taking more of a toll on her than she cared to admit, and despite her highest hopes, she is almost certain the children will be full of energy when she arrives home.

The headlights reflect off of the large three-paned windows of the house as Sharon pulls into the driveway and shuts off the engine, the early darkness of fall seeming to swallow her alive on the short walk from her car to the front door. Sharon can't help the relieved smile that breaks across her face upon entering the house and finding both Emily and Ricky curled up asleep on the couch, their babysitter, Kara, still watching _Gremlins_ , and eating the popcorn the children had long since forgotten about.

"Hi, Mrs. Raydor." The teen turns in her seat when she hears the front door close, guiltily dropping the piece of popcorn she had been holding back into the bowl, "The kids were really good. I don't think they like the movie too much, though." She shrugs, setting the bowl down on the table before pushing herself up from the couch and coming to stand in front of the older woman.

"Thank you, Kara." Sharon says as she reaches into her purse and looks for the teen's money, "I appreciate it."

"No problem." She nods gratefully once Sharon passes her the money, "Call me and let me know the next time you need a sitter."

"I will." Sharon offers a small wave as the teen steps out onto the front porch, "Drive safe."

Once Sharon sees Kara drive off, she closes and locks the front door, dropping her purse in the bin on the floor before slipping out of her heels and padding quietly to her bedroom. She changes into her pyjamas quickly, letting out a relieved sigh as she sits on the edge of her bed, toying with the ring on her finger.

 _There was so much progress that needed to be made._ Her house was still _their_ house. _Their_ room, now solely hers, was still adorned with photographs of herself and Jackson throughout various points in their lives.

 _Their high-school prom. Their graduation. Their wedding. Their honeymoon._

As much as he had hurt her, as much as Sharon had tried to act unaffected by it all, he was ingrained in her, in her life. And although she knew divorcing him was the right thing to do, she also knew that it would take time for her to recover. Because as much as he had hurt her both mentally and physically, she was still in love with him. In love with the teenage boy that had sheepishly asked her to the movies one Friday night; in love with the young man that had promised her a picturesque future, one which she never got. It hurt for her to admit, but she still loved him, despite his shortcomings and downfalls. She knew the man she had fallen in love with all those years ago was still there, buried beneath so much anger and resentment, and it broke her heart to know that nothing she had done had gotten through to him. What he had done to her, what he had put her through was unforgivable, but there was still a small part of Sharon that wished things could have turned out differently.

Letting out a heavy sigh she pushes herself up from the bed and walks over to the dresser, slipping the diamond ring off of her finger and setting it in a dish containing various other pieces of jewellry. She turns for the door but stops short, backtracking to the dresser and looking over all of the photos that reside there. She looks them over one by one before slowly, almost unsurely, laying them face-down on the surface of the dresser. With a deep breath she opens her bedroom door and steps out into the hallway, walking towards the living room where she can still hear the television playing.

She quietly shuts off the television before stopping for a moment and watching her children, the two curled up beneath a navy blue blanket Betty had made for them. The sight brings a smile to her lips, reminding her that her life isn't all bad. Sharon quickly turns and heads back to her bedroom, grabs her camera and walks back out to the living room to take a picture of Ricky and Emily. Sharon smiles happily to herself when she hears the shutter click, delighted that she would have another photo for the children's scrapbooks.

She quietly sets the camera down on the end table before reaching under the blankets and scooping Emily into her arms, doing her best to untangle the young girl from her brother. Sharon cradles Emily in her arms, humming soothing sounds as she carries her to her bedroom and covers her with blankets.

"Momma loves you." Sharon says quietly, kissing Emily's forehead before going back to the living room and doing the same for Ricky.

~oOo~

"What're you still doing up?" Miranda questions as she returns to the living room to find Andy sitting on the couch and reading a newspaper, a frosty mug of beer sitting on the end table, "I figured you'd be in bed by now."

Andy looks up at his wife, folds the newspaper, and sets it on the end table before speaking, "Raydor was supposed to call me and let me know how her meeting with the lawyers went." He admits sheepishly, "She still hasn't called."

"Oh." Miranda pouts in confusion as she processes her husband's words, "Wait, why did she go to a lawyer?" She tilts her head in question, watching as an apologetic look crosses Andy's face.

"She's getting divorced." He says plainly, not offering any other information despite his wife's prying gaze, "She wanted to keep it quiet for the time being, with her husband being a lawyer and all."

"Do I need to be worried?" Miranda asks sarcastically as she quirks an eyebrow, "You being friends with a newly single woman?"

"No." Andy shakes his head, surprised that she would even suggest something like that, "She trusts me, that's all."

"That better be all." Miranda laughs quietly before changing the topic, "So if I see her I should pretend I don't know about the divorce?"

Andy purses his lips and thinks for a moment before nodding, "That'd probably be best."

"Okay." Miranda smiles as she comes to stand in front of Andy, taking both of his hands with hers, "I'm going to bed, don't stay up too late." She says quietly as she captures his lips, "I get lonely when you're not there."

"I'm right behind you." Andy responds quietly, pecking her lips in return before she turns and walks down the hallway.

The phone ringing loudly startles Andy and he quickly answers it, his eyes shooting open in mild fear. "Hello?"

" _Flynn, it's me."_ Sharon's voice greets him, " _I'm sorry it's so late, I had to put the kids down and I hadn't eaten and I needed a shower and—"_

"It's okay." He cuts off her rambling, "I was waiting for you to call, I must've dozed off for a minute." Flynn says when he looks to the clock and realises that it's quarter-to-eleven, "How'd the meeting go?"

" _It could've been worse."_ She shrugs, " _From what Naomi told me, it sounds like they'll be expediting the motion—which is good."_ Sharon adds.

"That is good." Andy nods, a relieved grin on his face, "Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?"

" _Of course we are."_ Sharon manages to say through a yawn _, "I'll see you then."_

"Goodnight, Raydor." Andy chuckles.

" _Night, Flynn."_ She responds before they both hang up.


	13. Chapter 13

**_A/N: I know Jack couldn't have been this terrible in canon, but it furthers the Shandy parts of the plot._**

~oOo~

"Sharon, hi!" She hears a voice say behind her and she momentarily freezes, trying not to let the annoyance she feels show on her features.

"Miranda, how are you?" She questions with a faux smile as the blonde signs her children into school, "I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm doing well." Miranda returns as she follows Sharon out of the school and into the parking lot, "The real question is: how are _you_?"

Sharon pauses for a moment as she thinks of a response. If Flynn had kept his promise, then Miranda was just genuinely curious about her wellbeing, but if he hadn't, then Miranda was phishing for information she wasn't ready to give up yet.

"I'm fine." Sharon nods, yet another forced smile plastered on her face.

"What about your husband? Is he feeling any better?"

Sharon lets out a deep breath, quickly deciding playing dumb is the best option so as not to give away the situation, "He's feeling better, actually decided to go to work today." She smiles awkwardly as she unlocks her car.

"That's good." Miranda nods when she realises Sharon is trying to escape, "I'll see you later!"

"Bye." Sharon waves as she starts her car and heads towards the PAB.

~oOo~

"Ma'am, you have a visitor." Kirby Hart, one of Sharon's lieutenants, announces with a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" She tilts her head to the side in question, eyeing the young man in front of her, "Kirby?" She prompts when he remains mute, "Lieutenant Hart?" She raises her voice slightly as she comes to the doorway to investigate.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, I couldn't convince him to leave." He says under his breath as Sharon carefully pushes past him and comes out into the hallway to find none other than Jackson standing in front of her.

"We need to talk." Jack says gruffly, his face red and a large envelope clutched in his hefty hands, "Now."

Kirby glances worriedly at Sharon and she nods, watching as the lieutenant finds his way back to his desk. Sharon doesn't say a word, but goes back to her office and lets Jack enter before closing the door.

"What the hell are you thinking?" He asks, his voice still gruff and heavy with anger, "A divorce, Sharon, really?"

"Yes." She nods and takes her seat across from him, extending her hands on the top of the desk as she laces her fingers together, "I want a divorce."

"Well _I_ don't." Jack responds forcefully as he throws the envelope onto the desktop, "I'm going to fight you on this."

Sharon lets out an exasperated sigh and takes off her glasses, rubbing her eyes before focusing back on him, "Why would you do something like that?" She questions as she tries to keep her voice from breaking, "You were never in this marriage in the first place. Why would you make this any more difficult than it has to be?"

"Just for fun." He sneers with a careless shrug of his shoulders, "Why do you want a divorce?"

"Do we _really_ have to go through this again, Jack?" Sharon questions, her hands coming up to cover her face as she sighs again, "You hurt me. I know you don't see it that way, but you did. You've hardly been around to watch the kids grow up, and even then, I'd have to explain to them why you'd leave for weeks and months at a time. It'll be better for everyone if you work with me on this."

"If _I_ worked with _you_? Oh, sweetheart, that is _ironic_. _You_ were the one that wouldn't work with _me_."

"Sleep with you." Sharon pulls her lips into her mouth and nods, "You mean I wouldn't sleep with you. So you ran off and slept with some strangers in Vegas, and you're _still_ trying to fight with me about this divorce. The life we have isn't the kind of life that you want. So sign the papers, Jackson, please."

"Who told you about Vegas?" Jack questions angrily, his gaze narrowing as he eyes his wife, "You never did tell me."

"It's irrelevant." Sharon responds strongly as she looks up at him, "What matters is that you just admitted to it in the first place. Now sign the papers and stop making this more difficult than it already is."

Jack picks up the papers as he reads them over, Sharon letting out a relieved breath when he appears as if he's going to sign. To her dismay, Jack simply crumples up the paperwork and drops it into the trash can before getting up from his chair and turning towards the door, "Have a nice day, sweetheart." He winks before heading off down the hallway.

~oOo~

Andy knows she has a lot on her plate, but he finds her silence rather unsettling. She hadn't even bothered more than a forced smile in return to his greeting, nor had she thanked him for her meal. He took to glancing up at her every so often just to make sure she is still there, and is grateful every time he finds she is.

When the silence becomes unbearable, Flynn finally speaks up, "Good afternoon to you, too." He tries jokingly, his voice ceasing mid-laugh when she glares at him over the rims of her glasses.

"It has _not_ been a good day." She grumbles as she continues to eat.

"Want to talk about it?" Flynn tries, pretending he doesn't know what is bothering her. Word travelled fast through the PAB, and news of Raydor's husband paying a visit spread like wildfire. When Andy had first heard Jack was there he debated going up and checking on her, but didn't want to cause a scene. Judging by her rather stoic appearance, he thought maybe it'd been better if he had.

"He's contesting the divorce just to spite me." She finally explains, and Andy feels himself relax. He's glad he finally managed to get her talking, despite the fact that it is on a touchy subject.

"Did you tell the lawyer about what happened? What he did? They shouldn't let that happen, and you should get a PFA order." He adds.

"You're right, I should do that." She nods, "And I showed the lawyer the photographs my mother took. If Jack decides that this is truly what he wants to do, then he may end up in prison for abuse." She says with a frown, "I just want this to be over."

"Soon, hopefully." Andy tries with a small smile.

"Thank you." Sharon says quietly before once again going silent.

When Andy's phone breaks the silence that had once again fallen between himself and Sharon, he answers it professionally, "Corporal Flynn." Sharon can hear a muffled voice on the other end of the line, and she watches as Flynn occasionally nods as he jots down information in his notepad. "I'll be there in five, Sir." He nods again before hanging up. "Sorry, duty calls." Flynn quirks an eyebrow as he gets up from his seat and starts towards the door, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sharon offers nothing more than a small wave and a meagre smile as he heads out of the cafeteria.

~oOo~

 _Everything happened so quickly._

Now, sitting on the floor on the dimly lit home, the blue and red lights illuminating the walls, and his hands shaking and spotted with blood, Andy Flynn wants nothing more than to change the situation; to go back a mere five minutes and change someone's life for the better.

"Corporal?" He hears her voice and the sound of her clicking heels coming towards him, but he can't be bothered to turn and face her, "Flynn?" Raydor asks cautiously as she takes a seat on the floor beside him, "I'm glad you're okay."

Flynn grunts in response, rolling his eyes at her concern.

"I just talked to Captain Carbo." She admits carefully, "I need your statement."

Flynn takes a deep breath but doesn't talk immediately, Raydor watching him with concern. Her pen is pressed to the paper as she awaits his response, the flashing lights of the police cars reflecting off of her glasses.

"Hey," she reaches out and squeezes his forearm, a gesture she typically would have avoided, "I know this is difficult, but it's part of my investigation. Officer involved shootings are—"

"Stop." The word comes out harshly, and for a moment Sharon doubts it's Flynn who says it, "I can't do this right now." He pushes himself up off the floor and brushes the dirt from his pants, "I can't."

He starts for the door when Sharon gets up and quickly follows after him, "Corporal!" Flynn doesn't stop walking but continues out to the front of the house, officers and lights still abuzz outside, "Flynn!" She jogs quickly and stops in front of him, "I know this is hard to talk about, but I need to take your statement."

Flynn glares at her through clouded eyes before pushing past her, not even looking back as Sharon nearly falls to the ground.

~oOo~

"Oh my god, Andy, what happened to you?" Miranda questions with concern when she lays eyes on her husband, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I… no." Andy shakes his head, glancing down at the blood spotting his clothing, "I need a shower." He states before walking past Miranda and down the hall, her eyes following him worriedly as he goes.

As soon as she hears the water start she picks up the phone and quickly dials Sharon's number.

" _Raydor_." She answers loudly, a commotion filtering through the phone as she speaks, " _Hello_?"

"Sharon, it's Miranda." She finally manages to say, "What happened to Andy?"

" _Give me a minute._ " Miranda hears Sharon say to someone with her before she walks off to somewhere quieter, " _There was a shooting._ " Sharon explains carefully, " _He tried to intercept the shooter._ "

" _Tried_?" Miranda questions, "Sharon, what does that mean?"

" _It's an open investigation I really shouldn't talk about it; I'm sorry._ "

"He wouldn't tell me what happened. He came home _covered_ in blood," she says as her voice breaks, "and just acted like it was normal. You can't both keep me in the dark on this." She tries weakly.

Sharon lets out a puff of air before speaking articulately, " _This is breaking every rule in the book; you cannot breathe a word of this to anyone, even him. Do you understand?_ "

"Yes." Miranda nods slowly, her voice once again on the verge of breaking.

" _Robbery-Homicide was called to a scene this afternoon. Witnesses saw someone break in the window of a house and go inside. Flynn was dispatched, and when he got there they found out that there was a hostage: a teenage girl. From what Carbo told me, Flynn went around the back of the house and tried to apprehend the suspect. He announced himself and drew his weapon. He gave verbal commands to the suspect, and, without warning, the suspect fired on the hostage. In turn Flynn had to discharge his weapon._ " Sharon explains articulately.

"But all that blood, it's not his?" Miranda questions shakily.

" _No. It's not._ " Sharon shakes her head, holding up one slim finger when a detective approaches her, " _Look, Miranda I have to go. Can you please remind him to call me later?_ "

"I will." Miranda nods in response, thanking Sharon before hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Andy questions, and Miranda inhales sharply, turning to look at her husband where he stands in the living room.

"It was Sharon." She admits, "You're supposed to call her when you get a chance."

"Yeah." Andy shrugs, avoiding Miranda's eyes.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" She questions softly as she walks towards him, cautiously reaching out and embracing him in a hug.

"No, Mandy, I don't, okay, I just want to go to bed." He responds harshly, stepping out of her grasp and walking down the hallway.

~oOo~

"Flynn refused to give a statement." Sharon states deadpan, Captain Carbo sitting across from her in her office, "I understand the kind of impact things like this have, but I _need_ his statement for my investigation."

"I'm sorry." The captain looks to her apologetically as he scratches his cleanly-shaven chin, "I'll talk to him. I know he's the one that pulled the trigger, but this case has all of us shaken up."

"I understand that." Sharon nods calmly as she eyes the man in front of her, "Thank you for your time. Please tell your department to contact me if they think of anything I need to add to the report."

"I will, thank you." He nods before heading out of the office.

As soon as her office door is closed Sharon lets out a deep breath, taking off her glasses before covering her face with her hands. She had spent hours poring over the crime scene and interviewing officers, and she was exhausted. There wasn't much more she could do without Flynn's statement, and she knew getting that would be a feat in and of itself.

When her phone trills to life she answers it, one hand still lazily holding her face. "Raydor." Her voice is strong and steely despite her disheveled appearance, and for a brief moment she's grateful that whoever is on the line hadn't stopped by in person.

" _Hi, Lieutenant,"_ a vaguely familiar voice starts before letting out a deep breath, " _it's Sergeant Provenza."_

"Provenza, hi." Sharon responds, hoping he can't hear the tiredness creeping into her voice, "Can I help you with something?"

" _Actually, maybe."_ He responds, " _It's about Flynn."_

"What about him?" She questions curiously, "I know he was involved in the shooting yesterday afternoon if that's what you're referring to."

" _Cut the crap."_ He responds sharply, and for a brief moment Sharon debates disciplining him, " _I know about you two."_

Sharon lets out a deep breath and runs a hand through her hair before speaking, "Corporal Flynn and I are friends, nothing more."

" _Mhm."_ Provenza responds sarcastically, " _Regardless, he needs someone to talk to."_

"And you're telling me this because…" She asks as her voice trails off, "You're his partner, reach out to him."

" _I tried."_ He sighs, " _I was hoping maybe you'd have more luck."_

"Thank you for your concern." She nods before hanging up.


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: I'm sorry this update has been so delayed. Real life has been hectic, and I started a new job working nights, so future updates will come at a very early/late time depending on your timezone. Thanks, everyone for the support of this story!_

 _Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, nor is this story a certified backstory for Sharon and Andy._

~oOo~

"You just don't get it, do you?!" Flynn exclaims loudly, his face just as red with anger as his wife's, "I don't want to talk about it! Why isn't that a good enough answer for you?!"

"Andy, calm down." Miranda tries softly, "You're scaring the kids." She looks to him with hurt in her eyes, "I'll stop asking; please, just calm down."

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Michael asks nervously.

"Michael, be quiet." Miranda returns, still trying to calm her husband.

"Do you want to know what's wrong?" Andy questions gruffly, and Michael nods before he continues, "Yesterday at work, I watched a little girl get shot. I watched her brains splatter all over the wall, and then I had to kill someone. So Daddy's not too happy right now."

"Andy!" Miranda hisses, watching as the children's faces contort with horror, "What is wrong with you?!"

"Me? What's wrong with _me_?" He questions as he points to his chest, " _You're_ the one that can't take no for an answer!"

She turns away from her husband and lets out a deep breath, running a hand through her hair before addressing Michael and Nicole, "Okay you two, let's finish getting ready for school, hm?" They both look from Andy to Miranda, their faces red and eyes brimming with tears, "Let's go, okay?"

"Yes, Mom." Nicole says quietly, both she and her brother walking past Andy, picking up their backpacks, and walking out the door.

"I hope you're happy." Miranda says with disappointment before turning and following the kids out to the car.

~oOo~

" _Flynn, it's Raydor,_ again _."_ She emphasises weakly, " _This is the third message I've left you; I still need your statement, and I,"_ she lets out a deep breath, " _I just wanted to see how you were holding up. Please give me a call back, bye."_

Andy lets out a disgruntled sigh from where he lays face down on his bed, the sheets kicked into a messy pile at his feet. "Damn it." He grumbles before pushing himself out of bed, his feet dangling just above the maroon carpet that covers the floor. When he finally gathers the energy to traipse out to the living room, he flops down on the couch, pressing the 'play' button on the phone before leaning back and closing his eyes, the messages sparking the room to life.

" _Message 1: 8:00 AM: Hey, Flynn, it's Raydor. I know it's still early, but I need your statement to move forward. Call me back."_

" _Message 2: 8:27 AM: Andy, it's me. I think we both overreacted this morning. What you said scared the kids, and I hope this is something we'll be able to talk about when I get home. Love you, bye."_

" _Message 3: 9:32 AM: Corporal Flynn, it's Captain Carbo. I was calling in regards to yesterday's incident, I know Raydor needs to talk to you, and I don't think it would hurt for you to talk to Dr. Ackerman. Also, Sergeant Provenza said he hopes to see your ass back here sooner rather than later. Stop by if you have a chance, goodbye."_

" _Message 4: 10:00 AM: Flynn, it's me again, I know you're there. I ran into Miranda at the school and she told me you were pretty torn up about everything. If you need an ear I'm here, call me back."_

" _Message 5: 11:00AM: Flynn, it's Raydor again—"_

Andy lets out a sigh and presses the delete button before Raydor's last message can play through again, debating what to do. He knows the best option is to go to the PAB and talk to Raydor and Carbo in person, but at the same time, he dreads leaving the house. With a frown on his face he gets up from the couch and goes to his room, changing into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Pushing down his emotions as much as he can, he picks up his car keys and starts towards the PAB.

~oOo~

He is surprised to find Sharon sitting in the cafeteria, picking at a salad as she flips through the newspaper. Up until they had started having lunch together he'd never seen her in the cafeteria before. There were only a few people that could tolerate her, and Flynn assumed that was why she typically stayed in her office; she was trying not to draw the glares of her coworkers as she ate her lunch.

"Hi." Flynn says quietly as he takes his seat across from her. She sets down her fork and glances up from the paper, a look of pure surprise drawn across her face.

"It's good to see you." She offers a small smile, "How are you doing?"

"You know." He shrugs as he glances down at his hands, "I just… I can't stop thinking about it." Flynn lets out a deep breath as he runs both hands through his hair, "I keep seeing her face, hearing her screaming and crying, even when I close my eyes."

Sharon tilts her head to the side, her eyebrows knitting together in thought, "My friend Duane is a psychologist, if you want to talk to him." She suggests cautiously.

"Carbo already suggested it." He breathes out quietly, his eyes still avoiding hers, "But I don't know if I can. It just makes me feel so _weak_."

Sharon takes a sip of her iced tea as she tries to word her response, "You're not weak." It doesn't sound too convincing, but it's the best she can offer at the moment, "I actually," she lets out an awkward chuckle, "I'm talking to Duane because of what happened with my husband." Flynn raises his eyes to watch her curiously, "Seeking help doesn't make you weak."

"I guess you're right." He offers her a resigned smile, his lips pressing together in a thin line, "I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be to give you my statement." He admits lowly.

"Let's go to my office then." Sharon throws away her trash and starts for the elevator, Flynn moping behind.

~oOo~

"I arrived on scene at, uh," Flynn stalls as he flips through his dispatch notepad, "1315 hours. Captain Carbo, Sergeant Provenza, Detective Villo, and myself were on scene. The location: 197 Bermuda Avenue. Neighbours called when they saw the suspect smash the front window with a rock and climb inside. We announced ourselves and were met with no response. At that point we were under the impression that the house was unoccupied. We broke off to try and secure the suspect; I took the back door, Carbo took the front, and Provenza and Villo covered the sides. Once inside the house we found the suspect in the spare bedroom, he had this," he lets out a deep sigh, "this girl, she was maybe fifteen. We tried to talk him down, tried to get him to take the gun off her, but he didn't listen. We did everything he said; stopped walking when he told us not to move. But then he just shot her, and I fired back to keep my partners safe."

"What was the suspect's name?" Raydor asks quietly, her facial features crestfallen.

"I… I don't know." Flynn breathes out sadly, "I have no idea. I don't know the girl's name either. Everything happened so quickly and then I… I just sat there on the floor until you showed up."

"Do you want to know their names?" Sharon questions cautiously as she records his statement on her computer.

Flynn hesitates for a moment before nodding in response, "Yes."

"Nicolette Finn and Jeffrey DuPont."

"You can't be serious." He breathes out in frustration, knowing that Sharon isn't one to joke, "Nicolette Finn?"

Sharon nods, her eyes heavy with sadness, "She was sixteen. Her parents went to Modesto for the weekend and left her home alone. We notified them as soon as we were able to identify her."

"That's terrible." Flynn pouts and looks down at the desk so as to avoid her eyes, "I should call them when I get the chance, they deserve that."

"Don't push yourself too much." Sharon tries as she reaches out and squeezes his forearm, "Once your statement goes through you'll be cleared for duty, but you can take as much time as you need."

"Thank you." Andy stands and Sharon follows suit, both of them heading towards the door, "I'm going to go talk to Carbo, and then maybe I'll go find Dr. Ackerman."

"Flynn," Sharon calls his name and he stops on his way down the hallway to turn and look at her, "don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

"I won't." He nods as he disappears down the stairs.

~oOo~

"He won't sign the papers?" Naomi repeats what Sharon had said with disbelief, "Tell me what happened. You were supposed to call me if he came to see you."

"I'm sorry." Sharon shakes her head, "There's just a lot going on at the moment."

"What did he say?" Naomi ignores Sharon's panic in favour of obtaining the facts.

"He came to my office with the paperwork, and he was mad. He said he was going to fight me on it just to spite me and then he crumpled up the forms and threw them in the trash."

"Okay," Naomi lets out a deep breath and thinks for a moment, "now what I can do is help you file for no-fault divorce, since Mr. Raydor refuses to cooperate. I'll help you determine what is separate property and what is marital property to determine how the assets and debts will be divided. On the off chance that he decides to contest the divorce, however, the two of you will have a court date set and everything will be handled by a judge."

"Write up the papers and send them to his office." Sharon responds resolutely, "Immediately. I'm not going to let him drag this out any longer than necessary."

"I'll get them written up right away." Naomi nods as she begins to draft the papers, "I'll call you as soon as they're done."

"Thank you so much, Naomi." Sharon says as she stands, picks up her purse, and heads out of the office.

~oOo~

"You feel responsible for what happened?" Dr. Duane Ackerman asks precisely, his deep voice ricocheting off of the walls as he speaks.

"Yes, of course I do." Flynn breathes out quietly as he removes his hands from his face, his eyes momentarily focusing on the man with tawny brown skin sitting across from him, "I could've done more."

"I noticed that often times, when looking back on a situation, we find that to be the case, even if it's not necessarily true." He responds, watching Flynn curiously. It doesn't take a psychologist to tell he's hurting, and Duane wants to help as much as he can.

"I could've tried to take his gun, I could've tried to shoot him… I just _know_ if I had done more that girl would still be alive." He lets out a deep breath and leans back into the dark brown leather couch, "I don't care what your psych mumbo jumbo says, I know I could've saved her."

"You're projecting." Duane states plainly, "It doesn't take an expert to see that you picture this girl as an older version of your own daughter. It frightens you to think that harm so unimaginable could come to your own family."

"So what if you're right? It doesn't change the fact that I watched a kid get her brains blown out. It doesn't change the fact that I can't sleep because I keep seeing her over and over, hearing her scream; it doesn't change what's going on in my head."

"Time. It will take time." Duane nods, "Grief is a progression and you are only in the beginning stages."

Flynn lets out a puff of air and rolls his eyes, "Do you have to talk in riddles?"

"The more you ponder what I say, the sooner you will come to terms with what has happened."

"So that's a yes." He rolls his eyes again and rubs his temples, "Can I go now?"

"Of course you can. But I would kindly suggest that you make another appointment first."

"Next week, same time." Flynn says, not giving Duane any time to protest as he opens the door, surprised to see Lieutenant Raydor sitting in a chair on the other side of the hallway, her eyes once again drawn to the newspaper she has been reading earlier that day.

"Corporal." She looks up from her paper when she hears the office door open, "I'm surprised you talked to him."

"Why are you here?" He asks skeptically as he crosses the hallway and comes to stand in front of her.

"I'm next." She shrugs with a crooked smile as she folds up the paper, "Have you talked to Captain Carbo yet?"

"No, that's the next stop." Flynn responds as he glances down the hallway towards the elevator bay, "I'm not sure when I'm coming back yet, so I'll see you around." He adds with quiet embarrassment as he starts down the hallway, "Goodbye, Raydor."

She says nothing but watches as he goes, trying not to seem startled when she sees Duane propped in the doorway, a knowing look on his face.

"You two are friends, I take it?" He questions as he steps aside so that Sharon can enter his office.

"Something like that." She responds, letting out a deep breath before sitting heavily down on the couch, "Why is that of interest to you?"

"As his friend," Duane begins as he shuts the door and takes his seat across from Sharon, "are you not aware of his struggle?"

"As the investigating officer in the case, I am aware." She nods resolutely.

"And he of yours?" Duane questions with a quirked eyebrow.

"I don't see how that's relevant." Sharon responds, her hands folded neatly in her lap, "I'm not here to talk about my friendship with Flynn."

"Do you or do you not agree that he has been instrumental in your ability to cope with your own situation? Confirm or deny?" He asks, knowing by now that Sharon reacts best when faced with only two options.

"Confirm." She breathes out, "But still irrelevant."

"As a proxy of your own feelings and doubts, your relationship with him is quintessential."

"It's not like that." Sharon shakes her head, a lock of auburn hair falling forward and obscuring one of her eyes, "I knew you'd look too far into this, that's why I hadn't mentioned it before."

"It's my job to see the bigger picture, Sharon." Duane lets out a light chuckle, "And if your relationship with Andy isn't the way it appears, then elaborate."

Duane watches intently as Sharon thinks for a moment, her irises subconsciously jetting back and forth as she composes her words, "The first time Jackson put his hands on me the way he did, Flynn found out. And his wife, she thinks we're friends," Sharon scoffs offhandedly, "his wife came up with this plan for the kids to have a play date, so that Flynn could figure out what was really happening. My mother and I were talking about things with Jackson and he overheard us; when he approached me later about it, I told him the truth. I trust him, and after everything that's happened recently, it's important that I have someone whom I know I can rely on. We trust each other, that's all."

"Why do you trust him?" Dr. Ackerman questions, "Why him?"

"Why is the sky blue? Why do the clouds make the shapes they do?" She questions with a small tilt of her head, "We don't know why, but we do know that that's the way things are. I don't know why, out of everyone, he's the one I became friends with, but he is."

"And how does your husband feel about your relationship with Andy?" He eyes her curiously, watching as she becomes more and more defensive.

"There is no _relationship_ between myself and Corporal Flynn." She explains pointedly, "Besides, my husband could care less about who I associate with, and honestly at this point in our marriage it's none of his business."

"How does Flynn's wife feel about your relationship?" Duane questions, letting out a small chuckle when Sharon narrows her eyes and glares at him.

"It is _not_ a relationship." She repeats again, "His wife has been nothing but friendly with me, and hasn't said anything as far as I know."

"You are aware that any bond to a person is considered a relationship, whether platonic or otherwise, aren't you? You don't need to be so touchy over my use of the word."

"I am a professional." Sharon states, glancing away from Duane as she smooths her skirt, "I am a woman of rank in a predominantly male field, and I am disliked by many of my peers. It wouldn't be hard for someone to start a rumour and ruin my career by using the word _relationship_. Friendship is a far more suitable term."

"You're frightened." Duane nods, "Not of the rumours, you've dealt with those before; you're worried that your husband and his wife would believe them to be true, aren't you?"

Sharon's posture and facial features harden, her voice low and acidic as she speaks, "I sought your help in order to recover from the psychological wounds caused by my husband, _not_ to be interrogated about my personal friendships. If that's all you care to talk about then I'll be going." She begins to get up from the couch but Duane stops her with a knowing look.

"Sharon, you're avoiding things again." He breathes out, his eyes meeting hers in an attempt to get his point across, "Just like in the early years of your marriage, you pretended nothing was wrong. It was easier for you to ignore the facts than it was for you to face them. After everything Jackson put you through, you're struggling to find yourself, to make human connections and experience everything this new path has opened up for you. You're worried that by letting him in, or anyone really, that you're setting yourself up for hurt and pain. That's not necessarily true."

"But what if it is?" Sharon sighs, her face fallen with sadness.

"But what if it isn't?" Dr. Ackerman questions in response, "Think about it until our next session, hm?"

"I will."


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Cue my usual "this update is late because life got in the way" schpiel._

~oOo~

"Damn it, Flynn, talk to me." Provenza sighs, the pale bar lights giving him just enough visibility to see his partner, "Flynn."

He looks up from his empty glass, his eyes red-rimmed. For a moment Provenza regrets taking Flynn out for the evening; he wasn't much one for emotion or sentiment, and it seemed as though his friend was in need of both.

"Does what happened even faze you?" Flynn asks quietly, his eyes drifting back down to his glass as the waitress brings him a refill, "Why am I the only one that feels anything about what happened?"

"You're not." Provenza responds plainly, "But the rest of us, we didn't see that girl the way you do. What happened to her is awful, but she was a stranger to us. Not a daughter or a niece, just a girl."

"Just a girl," Flynn repeats as he empties his glass, "who got her brains scattered all over the wall, for what?"

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Provenza counters as he sips his beer.

"She was in her own home in the evening." Flynn fires back, "There was no 'wrong place, wrong time' about it. She was exactly where she belonged. What if someone broke into your house and attacked your wife? Would you feel the same way about it then?"

"Heather? The old bat would beat the living hell out of anyone that stepped foot in our house, myself included." He chuckles as he sips his drink, "You need to let it go Flynn, or it'll eat you alive.

"How am I supposed to just _let go_ of it?" He questions as the waitress brings him another drink, "That was someone's daughter, someone's best friend, someone's future wife. She was a girl who's never going to graduate high school or go to college or start a family. How am I supposed to just pretend her life was meaningless?"

"It wasn't." Provenza looks to his friend, Flynn's gaze far off, "Her life mattered. But it isn't up to you to mourn her like one of your own. Let her family and friends cope with what has happened as you try to move on yourself."

Flynn stays silent for a moment as he runs his hands through his hair before cradling his face with both hands, "I guess you're right."

"Damn straight I am." Provenza nods triumphantly as he sets down his empty mug, "Do you need a ride home?"

"No." Flynn shakes his head and dismisses his partner with a wave of his hand, "No, I'll be fine."

"I'm going to head home then; _please_ ," he emphasises with a deep sigh, "come back to work soon."

"Yeah, yeah." Flynn nods, taking another sip of his drink before waving his partner away.

~oOo~

"Where's Dad?" Michael asks quietly, "He promised we'd play a game tonight."

"I don't know where he's at, Honey." Miranda pouts as she runs a hand through her son's hair, "I'll call him again in a little bit. You could play with your sister until Daddy gets here." She suggests, and Michael shakes his head before crossing his arms over his chest.

"No. Daddy, not Nicole." He grumbles, his eyebrows furrowing together with frustration.

"I'll call him again in a little bit, I promise." She says before pressing a kiss to her son's forehead.

Miranda gets up from the couch and turns on the television, grateful to find that Michael's pout lessens, albeit only a little. She runs her hand through his hair one last time before walking down the hallway and dialling the phone.

She stands in her bedroom, impatiently tapping her finger on the back of the phone as it rings. " _You've reached Andy Flynn, robbery-homicide corporal. If this is an emergency call 911, otherwise leave a message and I'll call you back."_ The phone beeps and Miranda takes a deep breath before speaking, "Andy, it's me. I don't know what's going on but it's getting late and the kids are looking for you. I just want to know you're okay. Call me, bye."

She stands there and thinks for a moment before dialling another number, once again tapping impatiently as she waits for someone to answer. " _Hello?"_ A small voice answers, " _Who is it?"_

"Hi, sweetheart, it's Nicole and Michael's mom. Can you put your momma on the phone?"

" _Sure!"_ Emily responds excitedly, " _Momma, Mrs. Flynn is on the phone for you!"_

" _Hello?"_ Sharon answers cautiously, " _What's going on?"_

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me." Miranda responds, her voice sharper and more accusatory than she had intended it to be, "Where is my husband?"

" _I… I don't know."_ Sharon responds honestly, " _The last I saw him he was going to talk to Captain Carbo. What's wrong?"_

"He hasn't come home and he hasn't answered my calls. He's always home by now." Her tone is more worried now than it had been, and Sharon lets out a deep breath.

" _Give me a minute, I'll call you back."_ She says before hanging up and hastily dialling Provenza's number. "Where's Flynn?" She asks before he even has the chance to ask who's calling, "Provenza, where is he?"

" _God, woman."_ Provenza grumbles before addressing her question, " _We went to the bar, I left a while ago, he said he'd leave in a bit and_ — _Lieutenant?"_ He questions when the line clicks dead.

"Damn it." Sharon breathes out as she dials Miranda's number again.

" _Sharon?"_ Miranda answers worriedly, " _Did you find anything out?"_

"He went to the bar with Provenza." She says as she runs a hand through her hair.

" _Shit, I'll go get him."_ Miranda sighs as she gathers her car keys and a coat.

"Wait, let me." Sharon suggests hesitantly, "Emily and Ricky are already asleep on the couch; this way you won't have to leave your kids home alone."

" _Thank you so much, Sharon, I owe you one."_ She breathes out with relief, " _I'll see you when you get here."_

~oOo~

Sharon squints as she enters the bar, struggling to see through the cigarette smoke that clouds the air. The bar reeks of alcohol, tobacco, and stale peanuts, and she takes one last, deep breath of fresh air before fully stepping inside. She scans the venue for Flynn, surprised that he's nowhere to be found. With a pout on her face, she walks up to the bar and removes her badge from her pocket, showing it to the bartender before she speaks.

"Have you seen a man about six feet tall with dark hair and brown eyes? I have witnesses who say they saw him here earlier; he's a person of interest."

"What did he do?" The bartender, a bald, muscular man, asks cautiously, "This place has a good reputation and if this asshole ruins it, so help me—"

"Have you seen him: yes or no?" Sharon questions again, both her posture and voice demanding control of the situation, "Sir?" She prompts when he doesn't immediately respond.

"I think he might've gone into the bathroom." The bartender responds, "I can go look for him."

"No, I'll go." Raydor dismisses him, "Thank you for your help." She nods before walking off in the direction of the restrooms. With a resigned sigh she stands in front of the men's room door, her voice calm and collected, "Flynn, are you in there? It's Raydor. Miranda's worried about you." When no one responds she tries the handle, surprised to find that the door is locked. "Is anyone in there?" Again, no one answers, and Sharon sighs as she rubs her temples. The door is locked from the inside, meaning that someone _was_ in there. In a huff, she quickly walks back out to the bar and speaks to the bartender, "Do you have a way to get into the men's restroom if it's locked?"

"No, why I…" His voice trails off and he follows confusedly after Sharon. She knocks on the door one last time, and when once again no one answers, she instructs the bartender to step back, "Wait, what are you doing?" He questions frantically before Sharon kicks the door, the lock breaking and the door flying open to reveal Flynn, his lips locked onto a blonde woman's. Neither cease the exchange when Sharon breaks in the door, the woman only pulling away from Flynn when the bartender exclaims, "Clarissa, what are you doing? Get out of here! She's one of my waitresses." He explains under his breath.

She looks uncomfortably from Raydor to the bartender, placing one last kiss to Flynn's lips before wiping her mouth and running off, the bartender following after her.

"What are you thinking?!" Sharon exclaims loudly as she walks towards Flynn, "You know your wife and kids are at home worried sick about you and you're out here fooling around with some… some child!" She throws her hands up in frustration and lets out a deep breath, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Flynn.

"Why are you so mad?" Flynn questions, his voice light and bubbly and his mahogany eyes sparkling.

"Great." Sharon huffs, "Not only did you cheat on your wife, you're drunk. Fantastic." She reaches out and wraps her arm around Flynn's back, "Come on, it's time to go home."

"I don't want to." He responds, his voice small and childlike, "I don't want to go home."

"Too bad." Sharon responds gruffly as she pulls him towards the exit, "I'm taking you home."

"But I don't wanna." He pouts and crosses his arms over his chest, an eerie resemblance to his son.

"And I don't want to be hauling your ass out of a bar in the middle of the night." Sharon grunts as she loads a fighting Flynn into her car, "You are _so_ lucky I came to get you instead of Miranda."

"Why?" He questions quietly as Sharon starts the car and begins down the road. She can feel his eyes glued on her and it is starting to make her uncomfortable.

"Because you're an idiot. You have to tell her what you did." She responds monotone, her eyes locked on the road.

"But why?" He questions again, and Sharon lets out a deep sigh. She's starting to doubt that anything she is saying is getting through his thick skull.

"Because you cheated on your wife. You're married and you have a family, and instead of spending time with them you go for the slutty waitress."

Andy goes quiet for a moment; he's intoxicated, yes, but he knows it's unusual for Sharon to use expletives as often as she had this evening. With his eyes still glued on her he pouts, not completely at grips with the situation, "Oh no."

"Mhm." Sharon nods with a hum as she continues down the road, "Oh no is right."

~oOo~

"Thank you so much for bringing him home." Miranda breathes out gratefully as Sharon struggles to guide Andy through the door, his arm draped lazily over her shoulder.

"You're welcome." Sharon responds curtly, "Where do you want him?"

"The couch, I guess." Mandy shrugs unsurely, watching as Sharon sits him down on the couch, his figure collapsing into it. By now he is almost completely unconscious, his head bobbing back and forth carelessly.

"I'm sorry." Sharon breathes out as she comes to stand next to Miranda, both women with their arms crossed over their chests, "I could have done more for him, I should have."

"You can't blame yourself for this." Miranda admits quietly, she and Sharon both watching Andy as he begins to snore, "You didn't know he would do something like this."

Sharon pauses for a moment, debating her next move. Of course Miranda deserved to know what Andy had done, but it wasn't her place to mention it. Andy needed to own up to it himself, granted that he remembered. "But I should have. I knew how much this case was hurting him."

"Sharon," Flynn mumbles in a small voice, and she glances at Miranda before taking a step towards him, "I'm sorry." He says, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"Get some sleep." She responds equally as quietly before stepping back and aiming her attention at Miranda, "Please have him make a trip to my office tomorrow."

"I will." Miranda nods, "Thanks again."


	16. Chapter 16

Andy's eyes lazily flutter open, the first hints of dawn breaking over his face. He lets out a yawn but instantly stills, the pounding in his ears a friendly reminder of the previous night's events. With a careful push he gets himself up from the couch and starts slowly down the hallway in the hopes of finding something for his headache. He unsurely pushes open the bedroom door, a soft look falling over his features when he sees his wife curled up asleep in bed, Michael and Nicole sleeping beside her. Seeing them all together makes him frown, knowing that he had chosen to miss out on yet another precious moment with his family. Flynn rubs his temples before quietly passing through the bedroom and into the bathroom. He goes into the medicine cabinet and takes two Tylenol with practised ease before making his way back into the bedroom. He stops in front of the bed and looks fondly over his family; Nicole and Michael are snuggled tightly together, Miranda's arm protectively wrapped around both of them. He cautiously pulls back the covers and crawls into bed, Nicole instantly moving towards him, even in her sleep. With a contented sigh Flynn holds his daughter, despite the aching in his ears. Now, albeit only for a moment, things feel right, and he intends to cherish every second.

Flynn wakes again some hours later, surprised to find the bed empty. He blinks a few times and rubs his eyes, taking in the fresh afternoon light. He finds a note on the bedside table and picks it up, slowly scanning over it. " _I took the kids to school. Sharon asked that you come to her office today. We need to have a serious talk about last night's behaviour when I get home."_

Unsure of what had truly happened in his drunken stupor the previous night, he can feel anxiety prickling at his fingertips. He begrudgingly pushes himself out of bed and opens the dresser in search of an outfit, settling on a simple pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt before grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

~oOo~

Flynn knocks twice on her office door, holding his breath as he feels her squad's eyes lock on him. He knows they are protective of Sharon and that they dislike him, but their tracing eyes make him very uncomfortable.

"Hi." She opens the door and looks him over with surprise, "Come in, Corporal."

He does as he is told and steps into the office, anxiety once again biting at his skin. She motions with a hand for him to take the seat across from her and he does, his leg bouncing up and down nervously, "What did I do?" The words come out unsurely as he looks to her.

"You cheated on her." Raydor breathes out, "With a waitress from the bar. You never came home and she called asking about you. Provenza told me you two had gone to the bar so I went to look for you. When I found you you were locked in the bathroom making out with the waitress."

Flynn looks at her and blinks a few times as he processes the information, "I wouldn't do something like that."

"You did." Sharon responds deadpan, her expression serious as she speaks, "I don't know why you did but you did. And you should tell her."

"I can't… how could I?" Flynn breathes out with exasperation before covering his face with his hands, "I just got her back, got my family back. I don't want to lose them again." His voice is barely a whisper as he mumbles into his hands, Raydor's mouth turning down in a small pout.

"She deserves to know." Raydor says quietly, her gaze falling to her hands where they rest on top of her desk, "It will be hard, but you'll be okay. Speaking from experience, it's better to hear it from the source." She adds the last bit unsurely, hoping to ease Flynn's anxiety.

"How could I do something like this to her? To the kids?" His hands are still covering his face, "I can't tell her." He breathes out, going silent for a moment before saying "Oh god, I have to tell her."

She looks at the man across from her sympathetically, a small pout tugging at the corners of her mouth, "You don't remember, do you?"

"Bits and pieces." He breathes out as he uncovers his face, "I remember being there with Provenza, and then being in your car."

"When's your next appointment with Duane?" She questions softly with a tilt of her head.

"Next week." He responds, his face drawn and pensive.

"Would you like me to make a few phone calls, see if he can get you in today?" Sharon questions cautiously.

"Yeah, please." Flynn breathes out with a nod, "I'd appreciate it."

Sharon lifts the phone up to her ear as she dials Duane's number, tapping on the back of the phone as it rings, "Hi, Duane, it's Sharon Raydor." She goes silent for a moment as Duane says something Flynn can't hear, "Actually, I need a favour if you can." She glances at Flynn out of the corner of her eye as Duane talks again, momentarily voicing her request, "I have Andy Flynn in my office, and he was wondering if you had time to squeeze him in today, I know he's not supposed to be back until next—Thank you so much." She nods and hangs up the phone. "He said he'll make time for you after lunch." Sharon explains as she clasps her hands together on the top of her desk.

"Do you want to…" Flynn's voice trails off for a moment before picking back up, "Do you want to go to lunch then?" He questions, hopeful to keep their new tradition going.

"Actually," Sharon lets out a deep breath and scrunches up her nose, "I would love to, but people are starting to talk. About us." She adds when Andy looks at her with confusion, "They're starting rumours, and I don't think either of us need them floating around right now, especially with my divorce and all." She looks to Flynn with an apologetic pout, "I'm sorry."

"No, no it's okay, I get it." Flynn stands, and when Sharon starts to as well, he motions with a hand for her to stay seated, "It's not a problem. Thank you for telling me what happened, and for talking to Duane. I appreciate it."

He turns and leaves her office before she can utter a word, her eyes following him worriedly until he disappears out of view.

~oOo~

Her phone rings some time later and Sharon quickly picks it up, letting out a puff of air when she hears the gruff voice on the other end, " _You sent me new papers. Real sweet of you."_

"Jack, I'm busy, I don't have time for this right now." She sighs as she skims over some papers in the manila folder on her desk, "I'll talk to you later." She says resolutely before hanging up the phone.

A few seconds later it rings again. Sharon screens the call, not surprised to hear Jack on the other line. She lets the call go to voicemail and waits for him to leave a message. It is nothing nice nor civil (not that she had expected that), and she feels relief wash over her when the phone finally goes silent.

She sits, eyes closed for a moment before picking up the phone and dialling Naomi's number. " _Naomi Ross, how can I help you?"_

"Hi, Naomi, it's Sharon." She breathes out as she runs a hand through her hair, "Jackson just called me again, it got pretty vicious."

" _What did he say?"_ She asks, and Sharon can hear her typing in the background.

Sharon brings her phone close to the receiver and presses the play button, Jack's staticky voice filtering out, " _Listen bitch, how many times do I have to fucking tell you? I'm not signing the damn papers, so stop fucking trying. When you come to your senses and invite me back home, I'll be sure to repay the favour just the way you like."_ He continues, his voice acidic and gravelly, " _Call this off, unless you want me to come show you what it's really like to be abused. You're weak, Sharon, you wouldn't know abuse if it slapped you across the face. I suggest you think long and hard about what you plan to do next."_

" _Okay,"_ Naomi lets out a long breath, " _I know you didn't want to file any criminal charges against your husband, but you're getting into dangerous territory now, Sharon. We could already put him away for assault and rape, now we can add terroristic threats to that list. Are you sure you don't want to proceed with that route as well?"_

Sharon reaches up and covers her face with her hands as she thinks, a small groan escaping her lips. "File a PFA for myself and my children. Do not write up anything else in regards to Jackson. I would like to proceed with the no-fault divorce unless something drastically changes."

" _You are aware that even in an no-fault divorce, California is a half-and-half state?"_ Naomi questions.

"I keep the house, I get full custody, and he will pay me child support." Sharon responds seriously.

" _That's a lot of demands, I don't think anyone would agree to that, especially not a lawyer like him."_

"If he doesn't, then we can move forward with the criminal charges." Sharon explains.

" _Okay…"_ Naomi says the word unsurely, and Sharon, being well-versed in the law herself, knows that the proposition of blackmailing Jackson makes her lawyer uncomfortable. There was a time when the very idea would have made Sharon shift in her seat with anxiety as well, but now, in her current situation, she wanted Jackson out of her life by any means necessary, even slightly illegal means.

"Thank you so much." Sharon replies before hanging up.

~oOo~

The hours come and go, and soon Sharon finds it's time to pick up the children from school. She shuts down her computer and slings her purse over her shoulder before shutting off the lights and bidding her team a good evening. She starts down the highway, carelessly bobbing her head back and forth with the music as she goes. She pulls up to the school and walks inside, looking around curiously upon her arrival.

"Hello?" Sharon walks up and taps a young woman on the shoulder.

The woman turns around, her curly black hair framing her face, "How can I help you, ma'am?"

"My name is Sharon Raydor, my children are Emily and Richard Raydor, do you know where they are?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, their father already came and picked them up, Jackson Raydor." She reads off the paperwork before looking up to Sharon, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, thank you." Sharon nods before quickly walking back out to her car as she dials Flynn's number. She backs out of the parking spot impatiently as the phone continues to ring, quietly breathing out the word 'dammit' when the call goes to voicemail. She throws her phone on the passenger seat before hurrying off down the road towards her house.

She pulls up outside, her heart jumping to her throat when she sees Jackson's car parked in the driveway. She dials Flynn's number again, and when it once again goes to voicemail she leaves a message, "Flynn, it's me. Jack's here, he's in the house with the kids and I…" her voice is panicked but she instantly schools it, "I think I could use your help. Please call me back, bye."

She then dials Naomi's number, not surprised that it goes to voicemail, seeing as by now the firm was closed. When a beep signals the start of the voice recording, Sharon speaks, "Hi, Naomi, this is Sharon Raydor. I'm calling in regards to my husband, Jackson. He picked up the kids and he's in the house; I don't know what's going to happen once I go in there, but you asked me to inform you if he did anything, so I am." Sharon hangs up the phone and lets out a deep breath as she gets out of the car, straightening up her appearance before taking long, powerful strides up the sidewalk and to the front door.

"Mom, you're here!" Ricky exclaims and runs to hug Sharon as soon as she's through the door, "I thought you said Daddy wasn't living with us anymore?" He questions, his big brown eyes looking up at her curiously.

"He isn't, sweetheart, he's just visiting." She says through a forced smile as she ruffles her son's hair, "Where's Emily?"

"Her and Daddy are making dinner." He says before pulling on Sharon's hand and leading her towards the kitchen.

"Momma!" Emily smiles brightly once Sharon and Ricky enter the kitchen, "Look, Daddy's here!"

"Yes, he is." Sharon smiles at her daughter before glaring at her husband, "What are you two making for dinner?"

"Pasghetti!" Emily says excitedly from where she sits on the kitchen counter, a wooden spoon in her hand.

"Welcome home, hon." Jack greets as he walks towards Sharon and attempts to place a kiss to her lips.

She stops him with a gentle hand on his chest, causing his facial features to harden with anger, "Why are you here?" She asks lowly, both children immediately alerted to the tension in the room.

"Didn't you get my message? This is my house, those are my kids, and you are my wife. Haven't we talked about this before?" He questions, his face mere inches from hers and his breath acidic on her cheek, "You don't make the rules."

"You need to leave, or I'm calling the police." She says sternly, her eyes piercing into him from over the rims of her glasses.

"Didn't you learn anything last time you pulled that stunt?" He questions, his eyes fixed on Sharon just as menacingly, "I say jump, you ask how high, understand?"

"I say leave and you go, understand?" Sharon shoots back, "This isn't up for discussion."

"You're right, it's not. Which is why you'll do as _I_ say." He reaches up and removes her hand from where it still rests on his chest, kissing her palm before letting go, "Isn't that right, honey?"

"Yes, of course." She nods unsurely as Jack steps away from her, "Let me go change out of these heels." She adds before turning and walking swiftly down the hallway.

Once behind the barrier of her bedroom door Sharon kicks off her heels and lets out a deep, frustrated breath. Looking around the room, she realises that Jack had propped up every photo she had taken down the night before, and that his clothes had been returned to the closet. She carefully turns the lock on the door before sitting down on the bed and pulling out her phone, staring at the screen in dismay. After what feels like hours of sitting in her room, she finally dials her phone, once again calling Flynn. It's no surprise to Sharon that he doesn't answer, and with a disgruntled groan, she leaves her message, "I don't know where you are, or if you talked to Miranda yet, but Jack's still here. He brought all of his things with him and essentially moved back in. I don't know what's going to happen." Her voice wavers unwontedly and she sniffles before continuing, "I could really use your help here, Flynn, call me back." She shuts her phone and sits on the edge of the bed for a moment, her head in her hands, and her work clothes still on. When Sharon finally musters up enough energy to push herself off the edge of the bed, she drags her feet as she walks to her dresser and pulls out her pyjamas. For the sake of her own safety, she decides to layer a t-shirt and a long sleeve button up, along with a pair of leggings and pants that match the long sleeve shirt. She hoped that at least that way, it would limit (or prolong) Jackson's ability to touch her.

With a heavy sigh she opens the bedroom door and starts back towards the kitchen, dragging her feet as she goes. For a moment it had crossed her mind to fake being called into work, but she couldn't leave the children with Jack, nor did she want to. She was just thankful she had remembered to grab the pepper spray out of the lockbox and put it in her pocket.

~oOo~

"No man, get out." The bartender greets gruffly, "Last time you were here a cop busted down the door. I'm not serving guys like you."

"I'm a cop too." Flynn pulls his badge out of his pocket and flips it open, "That was my friend; she gets a little fired up."

"I should be giving you the bill to fix the door?" He questions, his gaze still fixed hard on Flynn.

"Yeah, sure whatever." He shrugs before jamming his hands in his jeans pockets, "Can I get a beer?"

"I said I'm not serving you. Don't matter that you're a cop, you caused a scene last time you were here. Take this and go." The bartender hands Flynn a piece of paper from an insurance company before speaking again, "Go before I get you out of here myself."

"Sure thing, thank you." Flynn offers a small wave, his eyes scanning over the paper as he turns and leaves the bar.

He starts down the sidewalk, people bumping into him as he goes. It's getting late, and it's no surprise to him that the local bars and clubs are abuzz with people. He keeps walking quickly down the sidewalk, his eyes fixed on his feet, the paper crinkled in his hand. He has nowhere to go and nowhere to be, and he knows that given just a short walk he'll be able to get the liquor that the previous bar had denied him.

A few blocks later he comes to stand in front of a bar he'd never been to, nor cared to know the name of. He pushes open the door and lets out a relieved sigh when the scents of alcohol and peanuts wash over him.

"Vodka, please." He says to the bartender, the tall, slender woman handing him what he had asked for before he finds a table and sits down.

Flynn sits for some time, emptying glass after glass of vodka as his thoughts become more and more clouded. But there is one thing that sticks with him no matter how intoxicated he is: his fight with Miranda. It plays over and over on a loop in his head, and no matter what he does he can't make it stop. Between that and the trauma from the shooting, he feels like he's going insane. If he wasn't watching a teenage girl's brains get blown out, he was watching his wife, in tears, voicing her frustration.

" _How could you do this?" Miranda had questioned, her composure instantly gone, "Andy, why would you do something like this to our family?"_

 _He could see the disappointment and the hurt in the way her soft blue eyes looked to him, but he couldn't come up with a good enough answer. "I was drunk, it was an accident, I would never do anything to hurt you—"_

" _When haven't you been drunk lately, Andy?" She questioned, her voice on the verge of breaking, "I know you've been through a hell of a lot recently, but this is low even for you."_

" _You don't get it!" He had argued back before running a hand through his dark hair, "Everywhere I go, I see this girl. Any time I see someone Nicole's age, or maybe even a bit older, I imagine what it would be like to watch them die the same way that girl did. It haunts me, Mandy, and you don't seem to fucking get that. So maybe I need a few extra drinks at the end of the night, or lunch with Raydor, or an appointment with psych to get me through the day, but I would_ never _purposely do anything to hurt you." He looked to her pleadingly, unsure of what he could say or do to attempt to amend the situation._

" _I think you should go." Miranda had answered, her gaze drawn to her hands, "I appreciate you telling me," she breathed out, pausing for a moment before she continued, "but that doesn't make it any less painful. It would be best for me if you gave me some time to take all this in."_

" _I can't just leave, Mandy." Flynn had argued, "You're my family. I know I messed up, but you can't just expect me to abandon everything we've built without giving it a fighting chance." He reached out and put his hands over hers as her eyes slowly raised to meet his._

" _I'm not asking you to leave for good. But you need your space to deal with what happened at work, and I need mine to deal with this. Please, Andy, do this for me."_

" _Of course." He said the words with a pout, his hands parting from hers as he started towards the door, "I love you. Call me when you want to talk."_

He looks up from his empty mug, his eyes fixating on the television across the room. The headline flashes a bright red across the screen, instantly sobering him up.

 _LAPD Lieutenant in critical condition after being attacked by husband._


	17. 17

_A/N: A guest commented and said I was doing a disservice to victims of abuse. When I first started this story and got negative reviews, I took it personally. Now, I'd like to justify myself by stating that I myself am a victim of domestic abuse and have seen and been a part of things like this happening. I'm writing it to the best of my ability. I'm fully aware my story is an over-villainization of Jack, and I'm sorry some of you feel Sharon has been sort of a flat character with no story. The next few chapters will focus more on her._

~oOo~

"How is Raydor?" Andy questions frantically, officers and press clogging up the hospital lobby.

"Why do you care?" An officer Flynn vaguely recognises asks in response, "She hates troublemakers like you."

Andy clenches his jaw, trying not to cause a scene in the middle of the crowded hospital. He pushes past the officer, starting down the corridor in search of someone who can give him some answers.

"Hey, excuse me," Flynn quickly walks over to a young man in green scrubs who is holding a clipboard, "can you tell me how Sharon Raydor is doing?"

"What's your relation to her?" He questions, flipping through the paperwork on the clipboard before looking up to Andy.

"We work together." He explains as he shows the man his badge, "What happened to her?" Flynn questions, his face visibly reddening when he so much as thinks about what Jack had done to her, "Excuse me, pal, I asked you a question." Andy prompts when the man doesn't say anything.

"The details are a little hazy at the moment." He admits quietly, "Her daughter called 911. From what the police said they found, her husband used physical force, and she pepper-sprayed him. He continued to attack her, and she has a concussion and internal bleeding in her stomach as a result of the assault."

"Where's her husband?" Flynn returns, his eyes narrowing with anger, "And her kids, where are her kids?"

"I've got one of my guys cleaning the husband's eyes. Last I heard, her kids were with someone from her division."

"Okay." Andy nods, one hand coming to rest on his hip as he thinks, "I want a protection detail outside her room, and I want the husband taken into custody as soon as you're done with him."

"Yes, sir." The nurse nods, watching as Flynn hurries away.

~oOo~

His phone buzzing in his pocket startles him, and Andy answers it quickly, "Flynn."

"Are you watching the news?" Miranda questions, her voice barely a whisper, "Sharon was attacked."

"Yeah." Andy lets out a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair, "I saw. I'm at the hospital right now, actually." He explains.

"How's she doing?"

"She has a concussion and some internal bleeding, that's all I know." He pouts, his knee bouncing up and down anxiously.

"What about the kids?" Mandy questions hesitantly, "They're okay, right?"

"I was actually going to go look for them." Flynn explains, "They aren't hurt, but Emily's the one that called 911. I think Lieutenant Hart has them, but I haven't found him yet."

"And what about her husband?"

"I hope the asshole rots in jail for the rest of his life." He shoots back gruffly, "That's what he deserves."

"Call me and let me know if anything changes." Miranda says quietly, "And if the kids need a place to stay, you can bring them here."

"Thank you for talking with me." Andy responds gratefully, Miranda bidding him goodnight as he hangs up the phone.

Andy pushes himself out of the chair, his knees cracking as he does so. He lets out a deep breath and adjusts his jacket before starting towards the group of uniformed officers talking in the corner of the lobby. Flynn finds it hard to believe that less than an hour ago he had been drunk off his ass, but now finds himself feeling completely sober in the middle of a bustling hospital.

"Excuse me," Flynn begins as he pushes his way into the group, "does anyone know where Raydor's children are?"

"Why does it matter to you?" A man whose badge reads Linus asks, "She's our lieutenant, we have the situation under control."

"She's my friend, our kids go to school together and they know me. It might help for them to see a familiar face right now." He explains, hopeful that the officers will indulge his queries.

"Everyone knows about you two." Another officer speaks up, "You don't have to pretend you guys aren't screwing."

Andy starts to say something when Linus stops him, "Jeffries, that's enough." He glares at the man that had previously spoken before turning back to Flynn, "I'll take you to them."

"Thank you." Flynn nods, sending one last hard look to Officer Jeffries before following Linus down the hallway.

They walk in silence, Andy following the taller man through the maze of corridors. "I'm sorry about my partner." Linus speaks up after a moment, "But there are rumours about your relationship with the lieutenant, and some people don't know when to stop sticking their noses in other people's business."

"I'm not screwing her." Flynn grumbles in return, his jaw clenched as he speaks.

"And that's between you and her. It's not for me or for any of our colleagues to know. That's all I have to say on the topic."

"Well, thank you," Flynn nods as they come to stand outside a room, all the blinds drawn tightly shut and the door closed, "for helping me out. I appreciate it. Do you know what's going to happen with her husband?"

"My friend is an attorney, she's taking care of everything."

"Thank you so much." Flynn reaches out and shakes Linus's hand, "I'm glad to know not everyone on the Rat Squad is an asshole."

"No problem." Linus offers a small wave before walking off.

Andy lets out a deep breath before tentatively knocking on the door. In another moment he hears it unlock, and he's grateful that when the door opens, Kirby Hart is standing in front of him. He'd never been overly friendly with the lieutenant, but Sharon had mentioned something about him the day Jack had come to her office. Kirby had tried to protect Sharon from the asshole, and for that he was grateful.

"Can I help you with something?" Kirby questions, his eyes scanning over Andy with curiosity.

"I'm Corporal Andy Flynn from robbery-homicide. I'm a friend of Raydor's, I just wanted to check on the kids."

"Oh, of course." Kirby apologises awkwardly, "I didn't put the name to the face."

"Would you have a problem if they stayed with me until she's out of the hospital? Our kids are friends and go to the same school, so I think it'd be a good idea."

"I'll run it by Chief Pope. Take your time." He nods before stepping out of the room and allowing Andy to enter.

"Mr. Flynn!" Ricky looks up to Andy with a hopeful smile as he closes the door and comes to sit on the couch between the two youngsters, "How's Mom?"

"I don't know any more than the two of you do." He says, a pout on his face as he speaks, "But you two are okay, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Ricky nods, his facial features saddened, "I don't know about Emily though."

Flynn looks to the youngest Raydor, surprised to find Emily with a small stuffed bear wrapped in her arms.

"Emily, it's me, Nicole and Michael's dad." He reaches out to brush a lock of hair from her face but she moves away from him, still speechless. "The two of you are going to be staying at my house until your mommy is better, okay?" He questions, his gaze still focused on Emily.

"I want to stay with Momma." Emily finally speaks, her voice almost inaudible.

"I know you do, sweetheart, but you have to give her some time to get better first." He explains, and he's grateful that Emily moves back towards him.

"Why did he hurt her?" She questions, looking up to Andy with tears brimming in her eyes, "Why did Daddy hurt Momma?"

Andy thinks for a moment, unsure of how to answer the question. He eventually decides the best way to respond is by saying, "Because he was trying to make your mother do something she didn't want to do." He explains softly, looking back and forth between the two children.

"Why would he do that?" Ricky questions, sitting up on his knees as he cranes his neck to get a better look at Flynn.

"Because sometimes when people get mad, they do things they shouldn't."

"Is Momma going to die?" Emily asks quietly, a tear sliding down her cheek as she squeezes her bear tighter, "I don't want her to die."

"She's going to be fine, Emily, she just needs some time, okay?"

"Okay." She nods, "As long as she'll be okay."

~oOo~

Andy sits in the cool darkness of his car for a moment, the yellow light from inside his house reflecting through the windshield.

"They're still getting settled in." Miranda explains, "Nic and Michael are up now, so I doubt they're going to sleep."

"Tell them I love them, okay?" He questions, watching his wife with sad eyes, "Please?"

"I will." She nods, avoiding his gaze as she pulls her cardigan tighter around herself, "Goodnight, Andy."

"Goodnight, Miranda, I love you." He says quietly, watching as she turns and walks back into the house.

Flynn sits for a moment, leaning back against the headrest as he lets out a deep breath. He wants to stay here, with his family, in their home, but Miranda won't have it. He knows he should be with Sharon, so she has a familiar face when she finally comes around; but the other part of him, the angry, senseless part, want to get drunk off his ass and just forget about all of the terrible things that had transpired in the past few days. To his own surprise, he finds himself driving back towards the hospital, holding so tightly to the steering wheel that his knuckles are turning white.

Andy Flynn wasn't one to admit it, but he was scared. Scared about far too many things, each of which threatened to throw him off balance. He's scared that he won't be able to salvage his relationship with Miranda. He's scared that Raydor's condition could worsen. He's scared for her children, having to grow up knowing how terrible Jackson was. And he is scared that he could lose two people that mean so much to him in only a matter of days. Flynn parks his car and shuts off the engine, sitting for a long moment before finally mustering up the energy to get out of the car. He walks into the hospital, surprised to find both Linus and Hart standing in the corner of the lobby sipping coffee. Flynn finds himself feeling grateful that of the two officers that chose to stay, it was the two of them Both Hart and Linus tolerated him, which was an almost impossible feat in and of itself. Flynn welcomes it, hopeful that the next few days will roll by smoothly.

"Flynn, didn't expect to see you back here." Linus looks up from his coffee, his dark eyes red and his appearance visibly exhausted.

"I brought the kids home; my wife thought it'd be a good idea for me to come back." He explains as he pours himself a cup of coffee, "How's she doing?"

"Still out like a light." Kirby responds, "That asshole really did a number on her."

"Where is he?" Flynn questions, his eyebrows knitting together with anger as his jaw clenches.

"Still in there somewhere." He motions down a hallway lined with rooms, "She sprayed him, which was probably a good thing, but that means we have to wait to tear his ass apart."

"Right." Andy nods, "He's probably crying like a little girl so he doesn't have to go down to the station. Oh no, my eyes hurt, you can't let me go yet." Flynn mocks, causing the other two men to chuckle lightly, "Ten bucks says he's stalling."

"I'm afraid we both agree with you on that one, Corporal." Linus says with a shake of his head.

"Why didn't she say something?" Kirby questions, a hint of anger and frustration in his voice, "We could've helped her before something this bad happened."

Andy glances between the two men unsurely, sipping his coffee in an attempt to keep from drawing attention to himself.

"Hart, we work cases like this pretty regularly." Linus pipes up, "Victims of abuse often find it embarrassing and feel that telling someone makes them weak."

"She's not weak though." Kirby responds with a raised eyebrow, "Hell, so many people are terrified of her. She's not the kind of person who'd let a guy like him do things like that."

"She told me," Flynn starts before taking another sip of his coffee, his attention directed towards Kirby, "that you were there the day Jack came to see her. That you tried to stop him. Do you know why he was there?"

"No." Kirby shakes his head, "I didn't even recognise him. I just saw an angry guy going towards her office and I didn't want her to get hurt."

"She had filed for divorce. That's why he was there." Andy explains bluntly, "She was keeping everything under wraps for the time being."

"You knew about this? About what he was doing?" Linus questions angrily with a pointed eyebrow, "You son of a bitch."

He takes a quick step towards Flynn, causing Andy to raise his hands in defence, "I made a promise-–to her. I accidentally," he emphasises, "found out about what was going on, and she made me promise not to tell anyone. I owed her that much, to honour her wishes and do as she asked."

Linus steps back, his features softening, "Why would she go through this all alone?"

"Look, I don't know, okay?" Flynn responds as he starts to walk away, "You can ask her when she comes around, but right now, my place is with her."

~oOo~

Flynn stands in the far corner of the cramped hospital room, his hands jammed in his pockets, and his eyes focused on the scuffs on his polished shoes. He had listened to the doctor talk about her condition, absorbing the words but understanding near nothing of what had been said. He eventually mustered up the courage to enter her room, and he tried his hardest to keep from looking at her. He had chosen to stay with her, but now, as he finds himself mere feet from her bedside, he wishes he were anywhere else. It shakes him to his core, knowing one of his closest friends could have come to such harm, and, he finds himself pondering how he would feel if it were Miranda in that bed rather than Sharon—if his wife had suffered such trauma at his hands or the hands of another, and how much heavier that burden would weigh on his heart. He lets out a deep sigh and steps forward, taking the seat beside her bed.

Only now does he allow himself to observe her features as she lay motionless, save for the rise and fall of her chest as she takes one shallow breath after another. A deep blue bruise colours her forehead above her left eye, fading as it makes its way down to the point of her chin, a line of stitches running a few inches across her jawline. It makes him wonder, albeit fearfully, what the rest of her body looks like beneath the thin hospital gown. He had heard from the news report and from the doctor, that she had suffered internal bleeding as a result of blunt force trauma, but only now does he notice the lump on her side, the dressing applied post-operation to the wound on her stomach. He lets out a deep breath and rubs his eyes, grateful to know that the doctors and nurses are doing their best to care for her despite the severity of her injuries.

Andy lets out a groan when he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, flipping it open with a roll of his eyes, "Flynn."

"Did you hear about the Lieutenant?" Provenza's voice greets him.

"Yeah I, I did." He breathes out as he rubs his temples, "Why do you care?"

"I wasn't sure if you knew, that's all." Provenza returns, "Besides, what are you doing up at such an ungodly hour?"

"I could ask you the same." Flynn retorts with a pointed brow.

"Goodbye, Flynn." Provenza grumbles before hanging up.

Flynn shakes his head, his phone held loosely in his hand. Only then does he see the notification in the top right corner of the screen: three new voice messages.

With an unsteady hand he presses the button, the first message filtering through.

"Message 1: 4:15 PM: Flynn, it's me. Jackson's here, he's in the house with the kids and I… I think I could use your help. Please call me back, bye."

Andy lets out a deep breath, a sickening feeling in his chest as the next message plays:

"Message 2: 5:30 PM: I don't know where you are, or if you talked to Miranda yet, but Jack's still here. He brought all of his things with him and essentially moved back in. I don't know what's going to happen later, but," she sniffles before continuing, "I could really use your help here Flynn, call me back."

The iron grip in his chest tightens ever still as the line clicks, the third and final message queueing up.

"Message 3: 9:15 PM: Flynn," her voice trickles through the phone weakly, and it's all he can do to keep from closing it right then, "I need you." Her voice is shaking and he can tell she is on the verge of tears, "Things have gotten out of control and I… I—"

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Jack's burly voice cuts in, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Jack, I—" He hears her scream, and the line go silent. "End of messages."

Flynn lets out a deep breath and bows his head with disappointment. He had made a promise to her and to her parents that he would keep her safe if the need arose, and it had. But he was too busy fighting his own demons to even notice his phone vibrating in his pocket.

Knowing what he knew now, he couldn't help but blame himself. Blame himself for cheating on Miranda. Blame himself for fighting with her instead of answering his damn phone. Blame himself for being too drunk to even notice it had rang in the first place. And most of all, he couldn't help but blame himself for Raydor's current condition.

She had trusted him, and he had let her down. Just like he let his wife down. Just like he let his kids down, and just like he let that girl, Nicolette Finn down. Everyone that ever relied on him, trusted him, it seemed he had a way of disappointing them. Bringing them nothing but sadness, emotional, and physical pain, despite his greatest efforts to do right by them.

He finally raises his head, uncertain of what to do next. Unsurely, he opens his contact list and scrolls down to the letter O, hesitantly pressing the call button.

"O'Dwyer residence, Conrad speaking." Sharon's father answers, and Flynn lets out a deep breath before finally mustering up the courage to speak.

"Hi, Mr. O'Dwyer, it's Andy Flynn, Sharon's friend." He starts, Conrad cutting him off before he can even explain the situation.

"Is she hurt?" Conrad asks seriously, his voice steely and unwavering despite the fear growing in the pit of his stomach, "Did he hurt her?"

"Yes." Andy breathes out, "She's in the hospital, I'm here with her. She's in critical condition, but she's stable. The kids are at my house, and I've got officers waiting to take Jack into custody. From there our DA is going to press charges."

"We need to be there with her." Conrad responds, his voice taking on a soft tone Andy hadn't heard him use before, "She needs us there with her."

"Trust me, I'm not leaving her side until she can kick me out herself." He offers a weak chuckle, "And I know you want to be here, but it's a haul for you to drive all the way down here, and I know how worried she gets about her mother travelling."

"Listen, son," Conrad lets out a deep breath, "Betty and I will be there as soon as we can. That way you and your wife don't have to worry about having two more mouths to feed, and," he emphasises, "maybe I can break out the old robes and put Jack away for hurting my little girl."

"I'd buy a ticket to that fight." Flynn chuckles to himself, "I'll see you when you get here."

"Call me if she gets worse, please." Conrad returns, a near-begging tone to his voice, "So Betty and I can prepare ourselves."

"I'll call you if something happens." Flynn nods in response, "I'll see you soon, Sir."

~oOo~

Flynn slowly opens his eyes when he hears the door open, surprised that he had actually fallen asleep. He sees a man standing in the corner of the room, a clipboard in his hand.

"I'm just going to check her vitals." He explains when Flynn looks to him curiously.

"Is she going to wake up anytime soon?" Andy questions as he rubs his eye, "She's been out for a while."

"Give her a couple more hours at most." The nurse responds as he takes her pulse, "Her body has a lot going on at the moment and she needs some time to recuperate."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Flynn returns as he rubs his forehead, his eyes drifting closed for a moment, "Do you know if her husband's still here?"

"I'm sorry, I can't disclose patient information to—"

"I'm an officer on the case." Flynn cuts him off as he shows his badge, "I need to know whether or not he was discharged."

"He was." The nurse nods, "Two hours ago. He left with some cops if that's what you're worried about."

"Thank you." Flynn nods, watching as the nurse opens the door and leaves.

He sits for a minute, his eyes scanning over Sharon as she continues to sleep, the monitor by her bedside beeping rhythmically with each breath she takes. She looks peaceful almost, and he is grateful that, despite the circumstances, she is getting some much needed rest.

When an idea comes to mind, Andy quickly pushes himself up from his chair and makes his way towards the gift shop.

"Seriously?" He grumbles to himself as he smacks through the cluster of balloons in front of him, "Not one get well soon? What kind of hospital is this?" Flynn questions as he lets out a deep breath, having not found what he had come in search of. He walks away from the balloon rack with disappointment, coming instead to investigate the flowers.

Andy Flynn was never much for flowers, all he knew was that they were pretty, and women seemed to like them. In all honesty he couldn't tell a poppy from a peony, and when shopping for flowers, he tended to purchase whatever caught his eye. Now is no exception, and he finds himself buying a bouquet of small sunflowers in a matter of minutes. "You need a better selection of balloons." He grumbles at the cashier before heading back towards Sharon's room.


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: I forgot about this story which is why this update is coming so late. My apologies! Real life has been hectic to say the least._

 _Side note: This is another abuse heavy chapter with Sharon being in the hospital. I know this part of the story deviates majorly from what we see canonically, but it'll get back on track and be more canon a few chapters down the line. Also, if anyone knows where I can stream MC (preferably for free) please send me a message; I need to binge watch the whole series to finish this story up lol._

~oOo~

The sound of Sharon lightly coughing causes Flynn to quickly look up from the newspaper he'd been occupying himself with, "Raydor, it's okay, it's me, Flynn." Her eyes are still closed, but she nods as she absorbs the information he had given, "You're in the hospital. Jack, he," Andy breathes out, "he's in custody. Linus's friend is a DA and she's making your case as we speak. The kids are at my house with Mandy, and," he knows the latter is information that will concern her most, "your parents are on their way."

Her eyes slowly flutter open and she blinks a few times, adjusting to the view of the world when not hidden behind her thick glasses. "Ow." She manages to let out weakly, her eyes drifting closed again.

"I know, hey, I'm right here, okay?" He tries softly, reaching out to squeeze her hand gently, "You have bruising and a few stitches on your face." She reaches up to touch her cheek when Flynn calmly stops her, "Don't." Her hand falls back to its place on her side and Flynn continues to speak, "You had internal bleeding in your stomach, but that's under control now."

He watches with curiosity as she once again slowly opens her eyes, her facial features heavy with sadness and pain. She looks to him and squeezes his hand softly in return, "Thank you."

"Can you tell me what happened?" He questions delicately, and Sharon closes her eyes again before she speaks, her voice quiet and raspy.

"The same thing that always happens." She lets out a small groan as she tries to adjust her position in the bed, "He went to the school and he took the kids. I was panicked, I didn't know where they were or what he was doing with them. I drove home and he was there and they were _so_ excited because their father was home. I tried to get him to leave, but," she lets out a deep sigh and Flynn squeezes her hand encouragingly, "but he wouldn't. He was holding me against the wall and I was able to kick him and knock him back. I kept the pepper spray from my belt in my pocket, and when he fell, I sprayed him with it. He got up and started blindly swinging but I was back against the wall and it was so easy for him to reach me. He," she breathes out before swallowing hard, "He hit me." She sighs, "With the lamp on the end table in our room. I always hated that lamp anyway." She chuckles weakly, "He hit me in the side, and then he hit me in the face and I… I think the lamp broke. I'm not sure."

"Look," Flynn breathes out guiltily as he bows his head, his thumb idly dancing over her knuckles, "I want to apologise. I didn't notice you called me, Miranda and I were talking and…" He lets out a puff of air, "if I had answered my phone, you wouldn't be in this situation."

She lets go of his hand and presses the button on her bed, sitting herself up as she winces. She opens her eyes and looks at him seriously, her marred face not hindering her from conveying her sincerity. "This isn't your fault, Flynn, you can't blame yourself for what Jack did, you can't."

"I made a promise, to you and to your father that I would keep you safe from Jack, and I didn't." His tone is remorseful and Sharon offers a small pout, the best she can on account of her stitches.

"And when we asked that of you," she starts before being interrupted by a small fit of coughs, "at the very least I understood that you would do your best to uphold that promise. You're not my bodyguard, not my boyfriend, you have your own family and your own life, you don't have to spend every waking moment trying to keep me safe from him."

"And you think your father will see it that way?" He questions with a raised eyebrow, "You needed me and I wasn't there."

"You have a lot going on with Miranda and the case." She looks to him sympathetically, "I understand that, don't beat yourself up over it."

Flynn sighs and reaches down to the small vase beside his chair, deciding that changing the topic is the best idea, "I brought you flowers." He picks up the vase and sets it on the table beside her bed, a hopeful shimmer in his eyes.

"You didn't have to do that." She offers a small smile, "They are beautiful though, thank you." She reaches out and touches one of the flowers, a shaky finger skimming over the bright yellow petals, "You don't have to stay here." She looks to Flynn and offers a small smile, "I'll be fine."

"I'll stay until your parents get here." He shrugs, reaching over and picking up the tv remote, "I don't have anywhere else to be."

"You talked to Miranda?" Sharon questions delicately, watching as Flynn flips through the channels, his gaze focused intently on the television screen.

"Yeah." He responds curtly, and Sharon takes notice of the way he presses the buttons harder.

"I'm guessing it didn't go too well, hm?" She questions as she props herself up on an elbow. Flynn doesn't acknowledge that she had even spoken, so she quickly adds "Sorry."

"Not your fault I'm a drunk fucking moron." He grumbles to himself, finally deciding to let the newest episode of _Cheers_ play on the tv.

Sharon lets out a puff of air, not particularly in the mood to argue with him in her current condition.

"I'm going to take a nap, don't make too much noise." She says before closing her eyes and pulling the thin blanket tighter around herself in a futile attempt to stay warm.

~oOo~

"Mommy." Miranda's eyes shoot open instinctively when she hears her daughter's small voice. She blinks a few times, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of her bedroom. She realises Nicole is standing in the doorway, her hair mussed and one of her pyjama sleeves pushed up to her elbow.

"Did you have a bad dream, sweetie?" She questions as she pushes herself up in bed and looks at her daughter, "You can stay with me if you want."

"Not me." She shakes her head and rubs her eye with a small hand, "Emily."

"What's wrong?" Miranda questions softly as she gets out of bed and walks to the doorway where she kneels in front of her daughter.

"She's crying. She won't stop."

"You can sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed tonight, okay, munchkin?" She questions, and Nicole nods as Miranda picks her up and tucks her into the bed before walking across the hall to her daughter's room. She pushes open the door cautiously, a frown tugging at her lips when she sees Emily curled up on the bed crying, her stuffed bear clutched against her tiny body.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Mandy asks softly as she sits on the edge of the bed and reaches out to gently stroke the girl's hair.

Emily nods and sniffles before inhaling deeply, "Momma died."

"No, sweetheart," Miranda breathes out as she continues to toy with Emily's hair, "no, your momma is going to be fine. She's just in the hospital right now."

"No, she died!" With each repetition of the phrase Emily cries louder, and Miranda is certain that if she continues, the young girl will erupt into a fit of wails that will wake even their neighbours.

"No," Miranda lets out a deep sigh before getting up from the bed and grabbing the phone from the hallway, dialling Andy's number as she returns, "let's see if you can talk to your momma, okay?" Miranda asks softly as the phone rings, Emily still crying. "Hey, Andy, is Sharon up?" Miranda questions.

" _She's asleep, what's wrong?"_ He questions, his voice laced with sleep.

"Emily had a nightmare, keeps saying Sharon's dead. I can't get her to stop crying, she woke Nicole…" Her voice trails off as she lets out a deep sigh, "If you could put Sharon on the phone I'd appreciate it."

" _I don't think I should wake her up,_ " he breathes out apologetically, " _I'm sorry."_

"Andy, _please_." Miranda responds, "Emily's going to cry herself sick if she keeps this up."

" _Okay."_ Flynn responds reluctantly, " _Give me a minute."_

Flynn reaches out from where he sits beside Sharon's bed and gently squeezes her shoulder, his thumb tracing soothingly over her skin.

"Hm?" She turns her head but doesn't open her eyes.

"Emily's on the phone." He explains, "She wants to talk to you."

Sharon slowly opens one eye and then the other, looking to Flynn with curiosity. "Give me the phone." She extends her hand and he gives it to her, watching as she holds it to her ear.

" _Momma?"_ Emily's small voice greets her. Sharon can't help the watery smile that breaks across her face at the sound of her daughter's voice.

"Hi, sweetheart." Sharon greets, "What's wrong?"

" _I had a bad dream."_ She responds quietly, " _I thought you died."_

"No, honey," Sharon shakes her head, "no, I didn't." She sniffles as she wipes her face with her hand, "Do you know why?"

" _No."_ Her daughter responds weakly.

"Because _you_ were a brave girl and you called the police." She responds with a sad smile, surprised to find Andy watching her with intrigue. "Now go to sleep, okay?" She questions before sniffling again, "Be good for Nicole's mom, and maybe you two can come visit tomorrow, okay?"

" _Goodnight, Momma, I love you."_

"I love you too, baby, be good for Mrs. Flynn, please."

" _I will, I promise. Night night."_ Emily responds quietly.

"Nighty night, Emily. Momma loves you." She says one last time before hanging up and giving Andy back his phone. "What?" She questions with a tilt of her head.

"Nothing, you're just…" his voice trails off as he continues to look at her in wonder, "you're really great with her. I wish I was that good with my kids."

"Well," she shrugs weakly, "practically being a single mother, I had to care about them enough for myself and Jack. There is no _good cop, bad cop_ , it's just me." She smiles sadly for a moment before saying, "Thank you for waking me up, I appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem." Flynn nods, "Do you need anything? Food, water?"

"I could really go for some tea right now." She winces as she sits up in the bed, "What time is it?"

"Quarter after three." Flynn responds as he looks down at his watch, "I'll be right back."

"Thank you." She offers a small smile, closing her eyes as he leaves.

He returns shortly, one paper cup in each hand. He passes her one and sits down before sipping his own, "How are you feeling?"

"Could be worse." She says with a bit of pain as she sips her tea, "Could've been hit by a semi truck."

"Let's not do that, hm?" Flynn responds with a small chuckle.

"Are you going back to work today?" She questions as she cradles the cup in her hands.

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it, why?" He asks with a tilt of his head.

"I know I gave you leave, I'm just worried that with everything going on right now that if you don't go back soon, you never will." She admits sheepishly.

"I will go back, I just can't right now. Not while you're cooped up in here." He says as he bows his head, his hands hanging loosely between his legs.

"Flynn, I'll be fine." She offers what she hopes is an encouraging smile, "My parents will be here soon, they'll bring the kids, and I'm sure Linus and Kirby will stop by when they have the time. You don't have to keep using me as an excuse."

"I'm not." He shakes his head, "I mean I am, sort of, maybe." Flynn looks up at her and shrugs, "But it's not like I shouldn't be here, I'm your friend, I promised to do things like this for you."

"You should try going to work, even just for a few hours." Sharon tries as she sips the last of her tea, "Sort of ween yourself back into it."

"You want me to leave?" The words come out with hurt, and he watches as she shifts nervously.

"I just… I would like some time to myself."

"Okay, okay." Flynn nods as he pushes himself up from his chair, "I'll leave you be. Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you." She offers a forced smile as he turns and leaves the room.

~oOo~

Andy lets out a deep breath and pulls on the hem of his jacket, hesitating outside of the interview room. He finally steps inside, the couple within the room looking up to him with watery eyes.

"Hi, I'm Corporal Andy Flynn." He offers his hand and the man shakes first, the woman following suit.

"I'm Anthony Finn, and this is my wife, Mathilde."

"Thank you for coming in." Andy nods as he takes his seat across from them, "Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee?"

"No, thank you." Anthony shakes his head as he links hands with his wife, "We just want to know what happened to our little girl."

Andy lets out a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair before looking back to the Finns, "How much did Captain Carbo tell you?"

"Someone broke into the house and shot her." Mathilde explains quietly.

"Yes." Flynn nods as he clasps his hands together on the face of the table, "I got a call about a breaking and entering at your home. At the time, we had no idea your daughter was in the house; from what we could tell the building was unoccupied. My team and I entered the house and found the suspect with your daughter. I… I," he breathes out, "I tried to talk him down, convince him to lower his gun, but he wouldn't. He shot your daughter, and I had to shoot him."

"You tried to save our girl?" Anthony asks as tears well up in his dark brown eyes, "You tried to save her, and we're forever grateful for that."

"You have no reason to thank me." Andy responds, his voice low with sadness, "I feel like I could've done more for her."

Both Anthony and Mathilde look to the man across from them, trying to understand his words. "What are you saying?" Mathilde asks.

"She didn't deserve to die." Flynn breathes out guiltily, "I did what I could, but I still feel responsible for what happened to your daughter."

"She could've died in that house all alone if it wasn't for you." Anthony responds, "Because of you and what you did, she wasn't alone."

"Thank you." Mathilde lets go of her husband's hand and gently squeezes Andy's, "Thank you so much." A tear slides down her cheek as she quietly breathes the words, "For looking out for Nicolette when we couldn't."

"My wife and I, we owe you everything in return for what you did." Anthony looks from Mathilde to Flynn, the former wearing a pained yet grateful expression, "I would like to make a donation to the LAPD."

"No, I…" Flynn fumbles, finding himself at a loss for words, "It should be the other way around, honestly, I was going to offer to help pay for anything you may… need for your daughter."

"No, that's not necessary." Mathilde bats away his suggestion with a wave of her hand, "You did what you could for our daughter, let us repay the favour."

Flynn pouts, trying his hardest to wrap his mind around the exchange that had just occurred. He had expected the Finns to be angry, distraught, and ready to blame him for what had happened to their daughter. To his surprise, the exact opposite had taken place, and in the numerous times he'd rehearsed the conversation in his mind, this was a scenario he hadn't even bothered to consider.

"Thank you." He finally nods, "That's very kind and generous of you. The department appreciates it."

"Of course." Anthony nods, squeezing his wife's hand once again.

~oOo~

"Oh my God." Betty breathes out quietly as she and Conrad make their way into the dimly lit room, "Look at her." She stops mid-step and gently reaches out to squeeze her husband's arm, his features softening in return.

"I'm going to kill him." Conrad responds solemnly, his eyes closed as he tries to hold in his anger.

Betty says nothing in return but nods before both she and Conrad come to stand at the foot of Sharon's bed. They watch their daughter as she sleeps, their hands linked together as they process the scene before them.

"You should sit." Conrad suggests quietly, "I don't want you to get too tired."

"I'm fine." Betty argues, but by the way her grip tightens around his hand, he can tell she needs a rest.

"Please." He looks to his wife, his icy blue eyes full of concern, "I don't need you in the hospital too."

With what he knows is nothing more than appreciative annoyance, Betty lets go of his hand and carefully makes her way to the chair closest to Sharon.

"That's better, now isn't it?" Conrad asks softly as he takes the seat beside his wife.

"Is Jim still a judge down here?" She questions instead, her eyes glued to the monitor on the opposite side of the room.

"I think so, I haven't talked to him in ages." Conrad breathes out, "You want to ask him to oversee the trial?"

"You think he'll want someone else to take his godbaby's case?" She questions in return, "I'm surprised he hasn't heard it through the grapevine and given you a call."

Conrad begins to speak but stops himself when Sharon stirs, both he and Betty watching as she rubs her eyes and lets out a small yawn.

"Hello there, sunshine." Betty sings softly, reaching out and skimming her fingers through Sharon's hair as she does so.

Sharon opens her eyes, swallowing hard and clearing her throat before she speaks, "Hi, Mom."

"How are you feeling?" Conrad questions. He gets up from his chair and comes to sit on the edge of her bed as he folds his hands neatly in his lap.

"You really didn't have to make a trip all the way out here." Sharon responds as she adjusts the position of her bed, "Especially since you were just here not too long ago."

"You didn't answer my question." Conrad responds plainly, "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Sharon breathes out, "And tired, very tired."

"What happened?" Betty asks cautiously, and Sharon lets out a deep sigh.

"I've gone over this with so many people; officers, press, I'm tired of saying it." Sharon explains quietly, "If you want to know what happened ask Flynn or one of the doctors."

"Is Flynn still here? I'd like to talk to him." Conrad's posture straightens as he speaks, alerting both women in the room that he was now in what Sharon had dubbed 'judge mode' as a child.

"He has some things going on." Sharon replies, "But I'm sure he'll stop back in sooner or later. Please don't be mad at him." She looks to her father pleadingly, "This isn't his fault."

"When I go to pick the kids up, he and I will have a little chat, that's all."

"Dad, I'm serious." Sharon argues, Betty's eyes darting back and forth between the two of them, "Last time you had a 'little chat' with someone, my first boyfriend ended up with a black eye. Flynn didn't do anything wrong."

"I just want to talk to him, man to man. I'm too old to be roughing people up anymore, Shay, you have my word on that."

Betty looks at Sharon and nods, the only bit of input she feels comfortable adding to the conversation. Both she and her husband are worried sick about their daughter and her well-being, and if talking to Flynn will ease their anxieties, she feels that it is the correct choice.

"He won't be at the school. He went to work, but I'm sure he'll stop in here when he has the time."

"I could drop by their house and talk to him, make sure the kids didn't leave anything."

Sharon closes her eyes and leans back into the bed as she slowly shakes her head, "He won't be there, personal thing. Just wait for him to come back."

"I'm going to call him." Conrad responds resolutely as he pushes himself up from where he sits on the edge of the bed, flipping open his phone as he starts for the door, both Sharon and Betty knowing that arguing won't change his mind.

 _A/N: I know Betty isn't a fan-favourite, but her real-life counterpart passed away in February 2017._


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: The more I read, edited, and worked on this story, the more I disliked it. If you've stuck around waiting these past few months for me to update, thank you for your support and patience._

~oOo~

Flynn sets down the remnants of his hamburger when he hears his phone trill to life in his pocket. He quickly wipes off his hands and flips open the phone, answering just before the call goes to voicemail, "Flynn."

" _Are you planning to come back to the hospital any time soon?"_ At the sound of Conrad's voice, his posture instantly stiffens, not wanting to look bad in the eyes of such a noble man.

"Is something wrong?" Andy asks the question as anxiety begins to nip at his fingertips, "Is she okay?"

" _She's fine. But I wanted to talk to you."_

"We can talk now if you want, I have a few minutes."

" _In person."_

"Oh… Okay?" Flynn returns unsurely as he absentmindedly drags a french fry through a pile of ketchup, "I'll be there in a bit. I have a couple things I have to wrap up here first."

" _Thank you."_ Conrad hangs up the phone and Andy lets out a deep sigh, anxiety and fear filling his stomach rather than the burger that now sits abandoned in the middle of the table. He doesn't have anything to do, he isn't even working, but he wants to give himself a few minutes to prepare for the coming conversation.

He doesn't know Conrad O'Dwyer well, but he does know how to read voice inflections, and he can tell that Sharon's father is less than happy. Flynn had expected that exact reaction from the older man, and, although Sharon had tried to convince him otherwise, he is still paranoid that Conrad will blame him for what had happened.

Andy lets out a deep breath and pushes himself up from the booth he had been sitting in, buttoning his jacket and brushing off the few crumbs that had landed in his lap before he starts for the door. He checks his phone one last time as he walks to his car, his heart dropping when he sees that Miranda still hadn't called him. He agreed to give her the space that she asked for, but he is worried that if they don't have a serious conversation soon that they never will. Their family is far too important for him to lose again, but he doesn't want to pressure Miranda to talk if she isn't ready.

He lets out yet another deep breath as he parks the car and starts into the hospital. He pauses when he makes it to Sharon's room, the disquiet he feels once again letting its presence be known.

He reaches up and raps on the glass door with one knuckle, not wanting to intrude on a familial moment that may be taking place on the other side of the door.

To his dismay Conrad opens the door, eyeing the younger man, "Flynn."

"Hello, Sir." Flynn nods when Conrad steps into the hallway and closes the door, "What is it you wanted to talk about?" He questions, hoping his voice doesn't give away how petrified he feels.

"You're a smart man, what do you think I want to talk about?" He questions as he looks to Flynn over the frames of his glasses, the gesture eerily similar to his daughter, "She didn't want to talk about what happened, told me to ask you."

"He signed the kids out of school, basically used them to get into the house. She went to pick them up but they weren't there, and she couldn't get Jack to leave the house. Later he cornered her and she pepper-sprayed him. He just started swinging and hit her with a lamp. She has a concussion and some stitches on her face, but luckily he didn't break her jaw. She had bleeding in her stomach as well, but they got that under control with some surgery." He pauses for a moment before blurting out, "I'm sorry I didn't get there in time to stop him." Flynn breathes, "And before you blame me for this, I want to stress the fact that I have a job of my own and a family I'm trying to keep stitched together. I'm doing my best to watch out for her, but I can't always be there. I want to apologise for that, because even though I don't want you to blame me, I blame myself and…" Flynn stops talking when Conrad reaches out and places a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Son, I'm not mad at you." Conrad shakes his head, "I'm angry with that bastard Jack, not you. My daughter is alive, which is a blessing in itself. I actually wanted to thank you."

" _Thank_ me?" Flynn questions, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion, "Why?"

"Betty and I, we have three girls." Conrad bows his head for a moment, looking to the ground before he speaks again, "Shay was always the smartest, but the decisions she makes sometimes;" he lets out a puff of air, "aside from her mother and I, she's never had anyone to look out for her, lend her a hand if she needed one. She's never had someone who cared about her needs as much as their own. Jack sure as hell didn't. I want to thank you for being someone I know we can trust, someone that wants to do right by our girl."

"Thank you for trusting me." Flynn nods unsurely, this conversation the second in a day that went a completely different direction than he expected, "It's an honour, Sir."

"You can stop it with that formal nonsense." Conrad chuckles to himself, "As far as I'm concerned, you're family. Conrad is fine."

"Do you think Raydor will be okay with that?" He questions, causing Conrad to let out another small laugh.

"I don't think _Sharon_ ," he emphasises jokingly, "will mind. Do you want to see her?"

"Uh… If she's up for it." Flynn nods, still taken aback by Conrad's behaviour.

"She was resting earlier, but I'm sure she'd love some company. Let me get Betty out of there and we'll go pick up the kids from school."

Flynn's face falls for a moment before he looks back to Conrad, "Sounds like a plan."

A few minutes later Flynn watches as the O'Dwyers head down the long corridor, the door to Sharon's room still ajar. He stands outside for a moment, something he noticed he'd been doing often lately. He lets out a deep breath and steps inside, pulling the door closed behind himself. He's surprised to find Sharon sitting up in bed, a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, and her head buried in a novel. He wants to say something to her about reading with a concussion, but he knows that will just aggravate her.

"How are you doing?" Flynn questions, his hands jammed in his pockets where he stands on the threshold.

She closes her book and looks up at him, a hint of surprise playing on her features, "My dad didn't threaten you, did he?"

"No." Andy laughs as he takes the few steps towards her bed and sits in the chair, "When he called me, I half expected him to."

"What did he want?" Sharon questions as she tilts her head to look at him, the bruising on her face beginning to fade, and the skin beneath her stitches a bright pink.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He chuckles, bowing his head with a small smile.

"Try me." Sharon looks to him daringly, and she crosses her arms over her chest as best she can despite the dressing on her side.

"He thanked me." Sharon tilts her head to the side, signalling to Flynn that she needs an explanation, "For looking out for you; he said you've never really had someone who," he hesitates before continuing, "cared about your well-being, and he was glad that I could be that person for you."

She offers him a tired smile before joking, "Now I can say we're friends."

"How are you feeling?" Andy questions, his gaze once again drawn to the discolouration on her cheek, "Your face is looking a bit better."

"Taking a few shots to the vest hurts less than this." She chuckles uncomfortably, and Flynn can tell she's getting tired. Although a part of him feels like he is intruding, he decides it is best to stay until she kicks him out or her parents return, whichever comes first.

He offers a small pout, watching as she tries to adjust her position in the bed, "Good news is it'll heal."

"Bad news is this is all over the television and the papers, isn't it?" She questions as she closes her eyes and exhales, "The press were all over for a while, I could see them through the window, taking pictures." She frowns, her nose wrinkling with irritation, "Until Linus came in and closed the blinds and posted officers outside."

Andy just nods; he had decided that although he was the one who had posted the detail outside her room, that it's better if she believes Linus had done it. He isn't sure how she would feel about him having done it, and doesn't want to risk upsetting her in her current condition.

"How are you doing?" She questions with a quirked eyebrow, "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"What happens next is up to her." Sharon watches as his facial features drop with sadness, his mouth turning down in a pout, "She asked for time and I'm giving her as long as she needs. She said she'd call me when she was ready, but I'm afraid I'm going to lose them."

Sharon ponders for a moment, not sure how to respond. As far as she could recall, Flynn had never been one for talking about his personal problems. If anything, she was the one that did all the talking, and he would listen intently while she rambled on. She finds it comforting to know that he trusts her enough to confide in her as well.

"It's only been a few days, give her some time." She suggests, "Miranda will get angry, she'll get mad at you, at herself, but she'll come around. When I first found out Jack was cheating on me," Andy looks up at her as she says her husband's name, a mixture of sadness and anger on his face, "I went out and drove ninety on the highway in the middle of the night. Went all the way to San Francisco and back before the kids even woke up the next day."

"That's almost an eleven hour trip." Flynn responds with worry.

"Not when you drive ninety, it isn't." She shakes her head, "That night," she lets out a deep breath, "it was the only thing I could do to feel like I was in control. I couldn't confront him about it, he was gone. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror for _weeks_ because I felt like I wasn't good enough. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep knowing he was out there screwing other women. I needed to feel like I had control over something in my life, so I drove. I chose which way I went, how fast I was going, hell, even what was playing on the radio. It was the only aspect of my life I felt like he couldn't ruin for me. So I went ninety down the freeway with all the windows open. I let the wind knot up my hair, and I blared Slayer and Megadeth on full volume so I couldn't hear myself crying. But what he did to me, to our family, it's a thousand times worse than what you did. Now I'm not saying what you did is right, but you had a reason. You're going through things at work, and you tried to forget about it by having a few drinks. You still love Miranda—there are days I wonder if Jack ever really loved me at all. She'll come around, and when she does, you better not screw it up again."

Flynn sits silently for a moment, his expression one of pure awe. The better he gets to know her, the more she continues to surprise him, and he's just now starting to realise that there is more to her than he originally thought. For a moment he regrets all the times he and Provenza had talked badly of her.

"I don't plan on it." He responds with a small chuckle, "Has anyone else been in to see you?"

"Linus and Kirby both stopped in for a bit. Oh, and Naomi." She adds, "They're waiting until I'm out of here to move the case forward."

"How do you feel about that?" Flynn returns with a tilt of his head, his hands resting loosely between his legs.

"I'm not sure." Sharon shakes her head before adjusting her position in the bed with a small sigh, "I want him to get justice for what he did, but…" She lets out a deep breath and closes her eyes before she runs a hand through her hair, looking to Flynn with misty eyes, "He had so much promise, his career, he's brilliant. And while he should most certainly be prosecuted, I feel like it's a waste. A waste of an intelligent mind and talent. It's such a shame." She shakes her head, her eyes lowered with sadness. Flynn finds himself surprised, yet again, at just how many facets of Sharon Raydor lay hidden beneath the surface.

"You know," he lets out an awkward chuckle, causing Sharon to look at him with a raised brow, "you have such a reputation for being cold and uncaring, but it's actually the opposite."

"Thanks." She responds, letting out a puff of air as she rolls her eyes, "Such a nice compliment."

Flynn purses his lips and clasps his hands together, realising by her reaction that he had misspoken. "I'm sorry." He tries quietly.

"Don't be, I'm used to it." She shrugs, seeming to brush off his earlier comment, "No harm done."

A knock on the door disrupts their conversation, Conrad peeking through the crack in the door a moment later, "We're back, and we brought company."

Andy chuckles to himself when he hears Emily and Ricky quietly chattering outside, and he presses his hands into his thighs as he pushes himself up from his chair, "I'll come see you tomorrow, call me if you need anything." He offers a smile and a small wave as he leaves the room, Conrad, Betty, and the kids quickly filing in.

"Momma!" Emily exclaims and runs to crawl into the bed, only stopping when Conrad wraps his arms around his granddaughter and picks her up.

"Your mother's hurt, you can't get too close to her right now." He explains, Sharon watching sadly as Emily's face falls.

"Hi, Ricky." She looks to her son, a tired yet bright smile on her face, "Were you two good for Mrs. Flynn?"

"Mhm." He nods triumphantly, causing all of the adults in the room to smile, "Nicole and Michael's dad wasn't there though."

"No, he stayed here to make sure I was okay." Sharon explains with a sad smile, her father noticing the change in her body language, "Emily, how are you doing, sweet pea?"

Conrad finally puts Emily down, the young girl quickly coming to stand at the edge of the bed beside her brother. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, Em, but I'll be home in a few days." She smiles as she reaches out and strokes her daughter's cheek, "You're gonna stay with Nana and Grumpy until I'm better, okay?"

"Okay." Emily nods, her head bobbing up and down comically, "What about Daddy?"

Conrad's eyes instantly lock on Sharon's, the latter looking thoughtful as she decides how to answer her daughter's question, "We'll talk about that once I'm home, okay?"

"Why did Daddy hurt you?" Emily questions, and to everyone's surprise, Ricky answers.

"Mr. Flynn said because Mom didn't wanna do something Dad wanted her to do." The young boy looks to his mother for approval and Sharon responds quietly.

"That's right, Ricky." Sharon then looks to her parents, surprised to find her father nodding solemnly. Only now was she starting to understand why her father trusted Flynn so much.

"Is that what happens when you don't want to do something?" Emily questions, instantly on the verge of tears, "You get hurt? Are you going to hurt us when we don't want to do something?"

"No, sweetheart, no, of course not." Sharon reaches out as best she can and hugs her daughter, "I would never hurt the two of you."

"Then why did Daddy?" Emily questions in return as she continues to hug Sharon.

Sharon lets out a deep breath, having both requested and hoped to avoid this conversation until she was back home. But like most things recently, it seemed that life had to throw a wrench in the works and make everything just a little more difficult than it had been. "Because Daddy doesn't know how to be nice to me."

"He used to be." Ricky frowns as he looks to his mother.

"I know." Her voice is melancholic as she slowly ruffles her son's hair, "But he isn't anymore, I wish he was."

"What's going to happen to him?" Emily asks, and Sharon tries to keep her expression neutral.

"I don't know yet, but I promise it'll all be okay." She forces a smile before she adjusts her position in the bed, pain breaking across her face as she does so.

"Are you alright?" Betty questions instantly as she reaches out to squeeze her daughter's hand.

"Yeah," she lets out a pained breath before she opens her eyes and looks back to her mother, "just a little uncomfortable."

"Okay you two, how about we head home and give your mother some time to rest?" Conrad questions, watching as both Emily and Ricky pout, "We'll come back after school tomorrow to see her." That makes the children smile, albeit only a little, and Sharon hugs the kids goodbye as best she can, closing her eyes as Betty presses a kiss to her forehead. She opens her eyes and is surprised to find Conrad standing in front of her, her mother and children no longer inside the cramped room.

"What's going on?" He sits on the side of her bed and runs a hand through her hair, watching as she once again closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath.

"What are you talking about?" She questions, genuinely unsure what he is referring to, "I'm in the hospital because my piece of shit husband beat me up, what else is going on?"

He continues to run his hand through her hair and down her cheek, an action that would always make her fall asleep as a child, "I'm talking about Flynn. You're my little girl, Shay, I can tell when something's not right."

"It's not my place to talk about his personal life. Let's just say we're both dealing with a lot right now and leave it at that." She lets out a small hum as Conrad continues to stroke her hair, sleep overtaking her.

"If he does anything out of hand–" Conrad starts, but Sharon stops him, her voice barely a whisper.

"He told me what you said." Sharon breathes out, "You can stop pretending you hate him."

Conrad lets out a light laugh as he leans in and presses a kiss to his daughter's cheek, "Goodnight, Shay, I love you."

"Love you too." She breathes out sleepily as Conrad quietly closes the door.


End file.
